What To Expect Out Of Life
by Clockwork Mockingbird
Summary: AU. Sasuke absolutely did not, in any way, shape, or form, want, need, or desire a wife. But within the year, he would have one. Until then, she's taking over his kitchen. SasSak
1. Of Meetings And Expectations

**A/N:** I'm aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive! I'm writing again, slowly but surely. Yup folks, we've got another arranged marriage fic by yours truly, but I'm going to take a different spin on things in this one. Let's see how it goes. Please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their upright and locked positions. And here we go...

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><p>Sasuke's betrothed (oh how he hated that word) was a strange one. Sure she was pretty enough- if she wasn't his... you know... he'd go as far as to say she was actually beautiful, but even ugly people could take good pictures he supposed- but she did things that were downright bizarre. Well, they were bizarre to him. She insisted that it was all perfectly normal. Or most of it was anyways.<p>

She sure didn't act like any woman he knew.

For starters she was from a different country, so had he been in a gracious and forgiving mood he would have cut her some slack. Unfortunately he was pissed off about the whole thing and was happy to think she was odd. Maybe then he could convince his "political advisors" (quotations needed as he was seriously reconsidering their importance) that he didn't need a wife.

Sasuke was also told that she was feisty. He didn't know why he was told that or what that meant exactly. He wasn't exactly sure he wanted to know. Although he did have it from a good source that she at least had the ability to hold an intelligent conversation. Not that she had really spoken to him yet. Once she actually got into the country though, it would be a plus. In Sasuke's limited experience, the prettier the woman, the dumber she was. Inversely proportional those creatures.

Naruto thought she was pretty cool. Apparently she had talked to _him_.

"We were crammed in that damn carriage for three days. Of course we talked!"

Her eyes were a little unsettling. Sasuke didn't know why, and it was rare he didn't know the why of situations so it threw him off. He was pissed that it threw him off. Add that onto the fact that he hadn't been able to sleep the previous night- which had _nothing_ to do with the fact that she was arriving today. At all- Sasuke concluded that he wasn't going to be able to smile at the woman no matter what.

Neji must have noticed his Kage lost in thought. He promptly drove his elbow sharply into the side of the man next to him. Sasuke growled at him, but turned to focus on the approaching carriage.

"This is stupid," Sasuke lamented for the hundredth time that day.

"Not your call," Neji said flatly.

"Don't remind me."

Naruto jumped out of the carriage almost before it stopped. He had a huge grin on his face, which Sasuke had learned long ago was usually a bad thing. The last time Naruto had grinned like that, he had come home to his oven on fire. The time before that it had been his study. The time before _that_ Naruto had managed to set himself on fire. Though the last one was at least amusing.

Sasuke was expecting a dainty hand to appear out of the carriage as she was helped out. He was almost positive that she would be wearing some kind of expensive and impossible to move in outfit. She'd wear lots of her most impressive jewelry and enough perfume to knock him over. She'd have an annoying laugh. She'd wear too much make up. Her hair would be perfectly done in a complicated updo. All the women he knew, minus a select few, were like that. Why would she be any different?

Naruto did offer a hand, but it was just to grab the bag that had been tossed to the ground. "I'll get it," a voice said from the depths of the carriage.

And then Haruno Sakura stepped into the sunlight and shattered each and every one of Sasuke's illusions.

She was wearing dark boots, dark pants, and a simple white shirt. She wore her hair in a ponytail. Sasuke took note of her hands as she hauled her bag over her shoulder. They were small but not dainty, and covered in calluses.

"Not what you expected?" Neji asked knowingly. He sounded too smug for his own damn good. Sasuke just glared at him.

Sakura gave them both a smile and stuck out one of her definitely not dainty hands. "Haruno Sakura."

Neji took the offered hand. "Hyuuga Neji. A pleasure to meet you."

The twinkle in Sakura's eye told them she highly doubted it but she appreciated the lie.

"That means you're Sasuke, Naruto's man-crush."

"He is not!" Naruto screeched from the carriage. "I'm going to drop all of your suitcases if you don't stop saying that! I'm a man on the edge!" He dangled a medium sized suitcase precariously from his fingers.

Sasuke waited for the outraged shriek and the demand that all her precious things remain in pristine condition or something along those lines. But Sakura just raised a slim brow and watched as Naruto took a firmer grip on the suitcase. She chuckled lightly and turned back to Sasuke, amused eyes still on Naruto.

"That trunk is all that's left," she said over her shoulder. "Just leave it, I'll get it in a minute."

Sensible traveling clothes and willing to do labor. Sasuke was starting to think he had misjudged her. A little. She seemed pretty down-to-earth, but only time would be able to tell.

Sasuke took the suitcase from Naruto. "This way," he said gruffly.

Sakura didn't look the least bit offended. She hauled her bag higher up on her shoulder and followed him into the house.

There was no way they would share a room- not until they were married (even the thought of the word left a bad taste in his mouth), so Sasuke bypassed the master bedroom, pausing only long enough to point it out.

"My room," he said, jerking his chin towards the door in case she had missed it. He actually doubted she was missing much, her eyes were darting around but he had the impression she was memorizing everything. "Door's usually open," he added. Then, as an afterthought and thinking of Naruto barging in several times, "Knock first."

They reached the last door in the hallway. Sasuke used to use it as a second study, but once he realized he only really used it when Naruto managed to trash his other one, he didn't have much of a qualm about transforming it into another bedroom. It was bigger than his spare rooms anyways, so he figured she'd be more comfortable. Not that he was thinking of her comfort. He just didn't want to hear her complain.

"Nice," Sakura said, glancing around. "I think this one room is the size of my whole apartment."

Neji sent the trunk down with a thunk. He eyed it briefly before turning to take a suitcase out of Naruto's hands before he dropped all of them. Sheepishly Naruto allowed Sakura to take one as well before dumping the remaining three unceremoniously on the floor. He winced, expected a reprimand.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and waited for a shriek, a demand of punishment, anything, but Sakura, apart from shifting the cases so she didn't step on them, didn't react.

"Sorry about the trunk," she said to Neji. "It's full of shoes and other heavy things."

"If I wasn't married, I would have thought bricks," Neji admitted. "My wife has a fondness for weapons. Our trunks usually weigh twice that."

Sakura didn't exactly laugh, but an amused huff did escape her. Then she turned so that she could see all of them and pasted a smile on her face. "Thanks for lugging my stuff." She slid her gaze to Naruto. "And thanks for the... interesting ride. You guys should go do your normal stuff. It'll take me a while to unpack."

Sasuke didn't need to be told twice. With a nod he strode out of the room. He didn't wait on Neji or Naruto. He knew they'd follow him. He went back down the hallway and into his- now only- study. Neji appeared a few seconds behind him, Naruto a minute after that.

"Just cause we're ninja doesn't mean you can vanish all the time," the blonde groused, kicking the door shut behind him.

Sasuke didn't waste any time. "What do you think?"

Naruto stared blankly at him for a minute before blinking and turning serious. "Ah, teme. I knew you'd turn this into a big deal."

"Naruto, I have to marry her. She will be ruling this country with me. It is a big deal. Not only will she be living here, _in my house_, but she will be learning several duties that the three of us know."

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, yeah, when you put it like _that_... but, seriously, I talked to Sakura for like three days straight. She's not stupid or weak or anything. She'll be good at this. You'll see."

"That's not his concern," Neji informed him. "Sasuke is concerned about her loyalties. She isn't from this country, she knows nothing of it. Why would she be loyal to a place that isn't her home?"

Sasuke nodded. One of the reasons he had placed Neji so high on the power chain is the man seemed to always understand what was left unsaid. Sasuke usually left him to explain things to Naruto while he went on with what needed to be done. However, Naruto needed to start picking up on these things if he was going to be the next Kage of Konoha.

"Naruto, would you say you've befriended her?"

"_Her_ name is Sakura, and yeah, I'd say that. Why?"

Sasuke wasn't surprised. Naruto had never met a stranger. "Then I'm going to leave it to you to show her around."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "You mean as long as you're not around, right?"

Sasuke grunted, neither a confirmation or a denial, but they both knew what he meant. Neji, who was quickly learning how Sasuke spoke, smirked. Since Sakura didn't seem to be a total simpering idiot, Sasuke was, very carefully, going to give her the benefit of the doubt. Neji wasn't really surprised. Naruto was usually good at reading people and if he liked Sakura, Sasuke would trust that.

What their Hokage thought of her, however, was uncertain.

"Did you see much of Sound while you were there?"

Naruto shook his head. "Not really. Went to get Sakura, saw their Kage- who was really sad to see her go- and then left. What I saw didn't look too different from the other villages though."

Sasuke nodded. "The people?"

"Nothing special. Lots of them were saying goodbye to Sakura." Naruto abruptly remembered. "She's a ninja. A medical one."

"That's what it said in her file." Sasuke rummaged through a drawer for a second before handing a thin file to Neji. "She's jonin level, and her medical skills are very advanced."

"It says here that she trained under Tsunade for years." Neji said. Naruto peered over his shoulder to get a better look. "Tsunade is Sound's Kage, correct?"

Sasuke nodded. "Konoha was asking for her to be the Hokage here but she turned them down."

"And you got the job instead," Naruto muttered. His voice was teasing, not bitter, and Sasuke marveled at that for a split second. How his best friend could be honestly happy that he had been shunted to the side was beyond him. It was probably why he kept the idiot around. Anyone that loyal was worth having by your side at all times.

"Yes, and now her apprentice is here and set to be my wife by the end of the year." Sasuke didn't think it was a conspiracy or a takeover attempt. Sound and Konoha were allies after all. It was shaky, but the treaty was holding, which was part of the reason Sakura was here in the first place. As the Kage's apprentice she had diplomat experience and would serve as Sound's delegate.

And Hokage's wife.

It still made Sasuke shudder. Him, married.

He slanted a gaze at Neji, the only married man in the room, wondering why he had done it. However, Neji wasn't Hokage and he married for love. Sasuke had doubted he would ever fall in love, but the idea had been nice. "Go home," he ordered. "Both of you. It's been a long day."

Tomorrow would probably be an even longer one, but Sasuke allowed his right hand men- his friends- to go home and rest as he worked into the night and ignored the woman down the hall.


	2. Of Pens and Food

It took Sasuke a minute to remember that Sakura had moved in. Having just woken up and hearing someone moving around in the kitchen wasn't a great way to start the day, though it wasn't exactly new to him. Usually Naruto would walk in without regard to locked doors or people sleeping, but whoever was moving about was too quiet for it to be the blonde. Once he realized who it was, Sasuke growled.

Had he been himself, he probably realized he was looking for a reason to get mad at the woman, but it was early, he was tired, and she was there. So he could blame her for whatever he liked.

He dressed and stalked towards the kitchen. This was exactly the reason he hadn't hired any servants- they tended to be in the way and loud in the mornings. With a scowl planted firmly on his lips and his hands clenched into fists, Sasuke rounded the corner into the kitchen.

"Salt, salt... of course there's no salt."

Sasuke stared.

Sakura was moving around the kitchen like she was familiar with it already (which was actually possible). Eggs were sizzling away in a frying pan, toast popped out of the toaster, and orange juice sat in a pitcher on the counter, waiting to be drunk. Sakura was surveying the spice cabinet with a frown, her back to him. She was still clad in her pajamas- sweats and a tank top with her feet bare. She looked totally at home.

"The salt is one cabinet over."

She didn't look surprised to see him, just grinned triumphantly upon finding what she was looking for.

"Naruto?" she asked, sprinkling the salt gently over the eggs. She reached for the spatula with her other hand.

"He usually puts things back in the wrong place," Sasuke confirmed. His stomach rumbled as he caught a whiff of the eggs.

Sakura glanced at him over her shoulder. "Ham and scrambled eggs and toast. Want any? I made too much."

Sasuke instantly forgot about being mad at her and reached for a plate. Sakura dished the eggs out and headed for the table with the orange juice. She hesitated for a second. "I forgot to ask, do you want something to drink besides orange juice? I think there's another gallon of milk."

"If there's more milk, it's bad. I haven't been to the market in a month."

Sakura chewed her eggs with a smile. "I thought so. There wasn't much in the fridge at all."

The food was very good. Sasuke ate slowly to savor and avoid being as hungry later. Sakura had no such ideas and wolfed down her eggs before starting on the toast. Sasuke didn't comment, remembering once that women weren't fond of men who said things about they way they ate. Or how much they ate.

Sakura was loading her dishes in the dishwasher by the time he was starting on his toast. The stove top and counters had been wiped by the time he stood. Sasuke suddenly wished for a servant. It didn't seem fair for her to clean up after him, especially after she had cooked. But there was no comment from her as she took his plate and glass to add with hers.

"So..." Sakura started, running water to wash the pan. "Any plans? Or do we sit in silence until we're married?"

Silence sounded fine to him, but he doubted Sakura was one to keep quiet. "You're free to do whatever. Naruto comes by almost every day so I doubt you'll be bored. He'll bring Hinata with him to meet you."

Sakura dried the pan and sat it back in the cabinet. "His girlfriend?"

"Sometimes. He doesn't seem to know what to call her." Feeling like he should do something, he put the orange juice back in the fridge.

"What do you do all day? Council and mission assignment?"

"The council usually meets once a week. Neji and I split mission assignment. Whenever I'm not there I'm at the office, here, or training."

Sakura nodded, surveying the kitchen and brushing stray crumbs onto her hand to dump in the trash. "I'd better get dressed before Naruto appears then." And she went around the corner out of sight. A few seconds later her door shut.

Sasuke stood in his spotless kitchen and took a moment to decide that not only were women were very strange, he might be marrying the strangest of them all.

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><p>Sasuke didn't know why he was still expecting things of that woman. She seemed to enjoy shattering his illusions. Maybe that's why she was selected as his wife- she kept proving him wrong. Well, as close to wrong as he could get anyways. If that was the case, Sasuke would bet money on Naruto having something to do with it.<p>

When Sakura mentioned getting dressed, Sasuke was set to wait around for a while and then entertain Naruto (which was never easy) and Hinata until she emerged an hour later. Yet five minutes later his doorbell rang, which told him Hinata was with Naruto and making him act like he had manners, Sakura met him there completely dressed.

"Hi Sakura!"

Sakura grinned. "Hey Naruto." She offered a hand to the woman at Naruto's side. "Sakura."

Hinata took the hand with a smile. "Hinata. It's nice to meet you."

Sasuke noticed the lack of a stutter, Hinata's one flaw when it came to politics. Naruto must have told Hinata enough about Sakura to feel comfortable because her voice remained strong.

"Oy teme, I've got those negotiations with Sand. We renewing?"

Personally, Sasuke thought it was stupid to renew negotiations and treaties with allies. The point of being allies was to come when called and help when needed. Sand mostly needed some of Konoha's crops and medicines, and Sasuke had no problem sending their excess supplies in exchanged for back up in battles and the knowledge they weren't about to go to war with a neighboring country.

What Sasuke deemed as stupid, however, didn't mean a thing and they still needed to be done.

"Bring them to the office. We'll be in there today."

Naruto groaned. "I was hoping it was our turn to assign missions."

"We did it yesterday," Sasuke pointed out.

"I know, but I love making the young ones squirm."

Sasuke realized he should probably mention leaving to Sakura. It made sense to let her know where he was going. She was very new to the country and could need something. Not to mention Naruto was going to be with him most of the day, so he wouldn't be able to help her either. She could probably fend for herself for the most part, but if she had questions it would be best for her to know where to go.

Naruto seemed to be thinking the same thing, but decided to take a less subtle approach.

"Ladies!" he bellowed. "We're off to rule the country. Be back later."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Could you at least pretend not to be narcissistic?"

Hinata and Sakura, who had retreated to the living room and were chatting on the couch, shared a grin. Hinata turned her grin to Naruto, who gave her a goofy one in return. Sasuke honestly had no idea why he wouldn't admit he was over the moon for her, but asking again would result in another headache and he didn't want to deal with that at the moment.

Sasuke dug into his pockets and Sakura found herself presented with a wad of cash.

"What's that for?" she asked.

Sasuke was partly intrigued and partly relieved she didn't reach for the money automatically. "Konoha currency is different than Sound. Your money probably haven't been transferred yet. This is in case you decide to restock the kitchen."

Sakura had looked like she was going to refuse the money, but she eventually took it with a sigh. "If your fridge wasn't down to juice and bad milk I wouldn't be taking this," she informed him. "This," she waved the money at him, "is your own fault."

Hinata laughed. "As long as there is something to eat, men don't notice the lack of actual food."

"Instant ramen is real food!" Naruto argued.

"Not when you eat it three times a day," Hinata said sweetly.

Sasuke glared at his friend. "Are you eating that crap again?"

"It's not crap!"

"Tch, whatever dope."

Naruto scowled at his Hokage. "Don't whatever me, teme. You always say that because you can't think of an argument 'cus you know I'm right."

Sasuke shrugged into his jacket. "Whatever helps you sleep at night." He walked out the door before Naruto could think of something else to argue about. They were headed to the same place, but Naruto always seemed to take three times longer to get to his destination. There were days Sasuke would get to the office an hour ahead of him when they had left at the same time. Naruto claimed he took time to enjoy things and stop and talk to people whereas Sasuke bolted to wherever he needed to go without so much as a glance around. Sasuke decided to let him think he was right. Besides, there were days he didn't feel like stopping for any reason. He simply had too much to do and there wasn't time to talk to everyone he came across.

He was several paces away from his house when he heard Naruto bellow a goodbye and slam his door. A few minutes later Sasuke felt Naruto fall into step beside him, which could only mean one thing. Naruto wanted to talk.

"Hinata seems to be hitting it off with Sakura," he started.

"Naruto it's only been one night. You can't honestly expect me to know about Sakura already."

"Well no," Naruto agreed. "But you must have talked to her more, right? What do you think so far?"

Sasuke had no idea, but he wasn't about to tell Naruto that. "She's not an idiot," he admitted.

"Didn't we establish this yesterday?" Naruto pretended to think about it. "Oh right, we did." He elbowed Sasuke playfully. "Come on, you must have noticed _something_ about her."

Irritated, Sasuke only sighed. Then, somewhat grudgingly, spoke. "She's a good cook. At least with eggs."

Naruto patted him on the shoulder. "See, that wasn't so hard. And at least you know she's not going to poison you or anything." He paused. "Actually, she might poison you if she's going to cook. You watch your back teme."

"Five minutes ago you were trying to get me to like her and now you're saying she's going to kill me with food?"

"Women are sneaky!" Naruto argued.

"People are sneaky," Sasuke countered. "It makes no difference what gender they are."

Naruto laughed. "Dude you really have no idea about women do you?"

Sasuke unlocked his office door, glancing at Naruto out of the corner of his eye. "Do you?" he asked. "You're still not sure what to call Hinata." He took the files from Naruto as he made his way to his desk, rummaging in his pocket for the pen he was almost sure he had put there yesterday.

"Hinata's... Hinata is Hinata. What else would I call her?"

Deciding his pen had fallen into the alternate dimension that ate only pens and socks, Sasuke began to go through his desk drawers. "I don't know, maybe your girlfriend?" he said sarcastically.

Naruto actually started laughing. "Her dad would have a cow, skin me alive, and nail me to the wall. He's already pissed that we're friends."

Sasuke managed to find a pen, but upon trying to sign the renewed treaty discovered it was out of ink and delved back into the drawers. "Hiashi is like that with Hinabi too," Sasuke pointed out. "Neji heard she had practice with a guy who wasn't her teammate and no one has seen him since."

Naruto grinned. "Doesn't surprise me."

"He's just being a father. Where the hell are all of my pens?"

Flopping down in his usual chair with a great flourish, Naruto shrugged. "I think I saw one in the bottom drawer the other day, but I swear that desk eats them." He stared at the ceiling in silence for a minute. "Hinata really is great you know. She's kind and smart and beautiful. Any guy would be lucky to date her."

"I just found a stash of pens, so that's our luck for the day." Sasuke thrust half the papers into Naruto's hands. "Sign my name to those before we run out of ink."

"You know," Naruto said after a few minutes of signing, or, in his case, forging, "Sakura's pretty cute..."

"It would be a shame to ruin a pen by jabbing it in your eye."

Naruto continued signing without comment.


	3. Of Cooking and Fights

**A/N:** Fair warning. I suck at fight scenes. Carry on.

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><p>Sasuke came home to the smell of something wonderful floating from the kitchen. Wondering if Naruto had been serious about poisoning, he slid his shoes off and cautiously poked his head around the corner. He saw Sakura practically dancing around, adding something to one pan and something else to another. There were two pans on the stove, both sizzling merrily. The oven timer chimed and Sakura dashed for an oven mitt and pulled out a beautifully browned chicken.<p>

Well if he was going to die, death by delicious food wasn't such a bad way to go.

His stomach angrily reminded him of the two bites of the sandwich he'd managed for lunch and demanded to be refilled immediately. Sasuke stepped into the kitchen and leaned against the door frame to watch his... watch Sakura finish dinner.

"How spicy do you like things?" she asked without turning around.

Sasuke wasn't surprised she knew he was there. He'd made no effort to hide himself and she was a jonin after all. He should expect her to have some skills. Then again, so far she'd been nothing like he'd expected, so he shouldn't expect anything from her really. That or stop deciding what she was like before actually knowing.

"Not very."

"Oh good." She shook the pan to stir things around. "I was afraid you were someone who liked things mega spicy." She added what was in one pan to the other one, switching the burner off as she went. "I don't like spicy at all," she informed him. "If you liked spice we wouldn't get along."

"Really," Sasuke deadpanned.

"Unless you can cook," Sakura amended. "Then we'd each make our own meals and it wouldn't be a problem. Do you like mushrooms?"

She really was strange. "Yes."

"In that case, dinner's ready."

Sasuke didn't move. He watched her cut a slice of the chicken and pour what looked like mushroom sauce over it. She poured herself a glass of water, taking a sip before she went to the table. She sat her plate down but didn't sit, brow raised as she stared right back at him.

"Why are you doing this?" Sasuke finally asked.

She looked confused. "Making dinner?"

"Dinner, breakfast... why even go through the trouble?"

Sakura sat down, picking up her fork and beginning to saw through her chicken. "Because I'm hungry and I bet you are too," she said. "It doesn't make since to cook enough for just me and I'm not going to let you starve."

"I wouldn't starve," Sasuke told her. "I'd eat out a lot or make something simple."

"Are you always like this when someone tries to do something nice for you?" When he didn't answer, she sighed. "Look, we're both in this together. I see no point in looking for reasons to blame each other for something we can't control. I, for one, am going to make the best of it. I like to cook. You're hungry. It's a no brainer. But if you don't want to eat, fine. I'll save it for later." She took a pointed bite of the heavenly smelling creation on her plate. "Just so you know, it's really good."

Sasuke watched her for a moment more before getting a plate and piling it with two large slices of chicken, drowning it in the sauce, and getting an enormous glass of water. His stomach rumbled again as he sat opposite of the stranger in his home. She had a point. She had several actually. There was no point in making themselves miserable over something they couldn't change.

Dinner wasn't a peace treaty or a confession of undying affection- not that he had any affection for her at all- but it was a start. A very tasty, filling, wonderful start.

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><p>Sakura kept cooking. Every day when Sasuke got up he heard her bustling about in the kitchen. Some days he got up before her, but by the time he was dressed she would be up, whipping up something amazing smelling that would prompt him to hurry and get to the kitchen faster. He liked watching her cook. It was fascinating how she moved fluidly from one place to the other. No matter how many pots or pans she had, nothing ever got burned.<p>

Sasuke remembered the first time he had tried to cook something more complicated than spaghetti. He had gotten distracted and forgotten about the food and it had burned so badly it had actually caught fire. The smoke detector had loudly informed him of his failure and he hadn't tried since. It was pointless to continue to try if he was going to be utterly helpless at it.

Besides, if he wanted a cooked meal every day, he could always hire a cook. If he wanted. Which he didn't.

He kept trying to think of ways to tell Sakura she didn't have to cook everyday, but she seemed to already know that. She waved him off and told him she wanted to, now shut up and get a plate, the food's ready.

She was totally bizarre. She cooked and cleaned and did laundry. The other day Sasuke had found his shirts folded neatly on the dryer, the load he had put in the washer already running in the dryer. Feeling like he should thank her but not really wanting to, he rotated her laundry as well and said nothing.

Naruto started coming by earlier each day, hoping to get some of whatever Sakura had whipped up that morning. Sasuke told him to go away, but Sakura was encouraging him by making enough for all three of them rather than just herself and him. Sasuke wondered if he should be annoyed that Naruto was freeloading or amazed that he was eating something other than ramen.

Considering the scene before him, he was going to go with amazed.

"Now add the oil," Sakura was saying. "But carefully. It might pop up and burn you."

Hinata was standing in his kitchen, spatula in one hand, a bottle of cooking oil in the other. Sakura was off to the side, chopping up tomatoes and giving orders over her shoulder. Hinata carefully added the oil to the pan, grinning at the sizzle. Sakura nodded, reaching for another tomato and beginning to slice.

"Now the bread before the oil gets too hot."

"And the garlic?"

"If you add it after the bread has cooked for a while it won't be as strong but you'll still be able to taste it. Don't forget the thyme though."

Hinata added the necessary things to the pan, jiggling the pan, watching the items intently. "I think it needs more oil."

Sakura noticed him as she walked over to check the pan. "I didn't hear you come in. Yeah add a little more. You need to flip them over anyways. Add the tomatoes to the top."

"Cooking lesson?" Sasuke asked. He couldn't think of any other reason the Hyuuga heiress would be in his kitchen. Well he could, but none of them made sense.

Sakura nodded. "Hinata's going to make Naruto dinner to attempt to get him to eat some actual food for dinner rather than going to that ramen stand. She wanted to practice first."

Hinata seemed to suddenly realize she was using the Hokage's stuff in the Hokage's house. "S-sorry for the intrusion Hokage-sama!" she squeaked, turning from the pan, eyes downcast.

Sakura looked confused but Sasuke just rolled his eyes. "It's fine. If you guys don't use the kitchen no one else will. Just don't burn anything down."

He left them to finish making whatever it was before his stomach decided to make a noise the Hokage's stomach shouldn't be making.

Hinata was very good at politics and she was growing in strength as a ninja, but she was always unsure. Unsure of herself, her actions, worried about the consequences, worried what others would think. She was a people-pleaser, which was exactly why he couldn't send her to deal with negotiations or anything of the like. On paper she could make a firm argument, but in person she would fall over herself trying to make everyone happy. But if Sakura wanted to teach her to cook, that was fine by him. Maybe then Naruto would finally quit beating around the bush and ask her out on an actual date.

Sasuke kept the door to his study halfway open as he worked, his way of telling people they could come in. He could also smell the food much better that way, which seemed to only torture him and keep him from actually working, and the aimless chatter was distracting, but he couldn't bring himself to close the door.

* * *

><p>"... and the treaty has gone through," Neji finished, stacking the papers neatly on Sasuke's desk.<p>

Naruto groaned in satisfaction when his back popped loudly. Sasuke scowled, but Naruto only grinned at him. "Hate me all you want but my back feels great!"

"Until you're fifty and can't stand up straight," Sasuke muttered. "How are the chunin tests coming along?"

"The written test was finished today. We start the next part tomorrow." Neji counted quickly in his head. "They should wrap up by the end of the month. I've managed to convince Shikamaru to watch the forest this year."

Sasuke smirked. "You used your pregnant wife as an excuse didn't you?"

Neji didn't look ashamed in the slightest. "Tenten can be scary when she wants to be. Shikamaru barely argued, though he said it was 'troublesome'."

"Everything's 'troublesome' for him," Naruto laughed. "Even his own life. Oh that reminds me, I've had a few people ask about the jonin tests. When do you want to hold those?"

Sasuke resisted the urge to groan. The chunin tests weren't even halfway over yet and people were already talking about jonin exams. With a sigh he reminded himself that he liked his job and reached for the calendar buried under the files on his desk. He flipped past the current month and the next one- they were both pretty packed. The jonin tests weren't as public as the chunin, but they were twice a long and complicated.

"We'll set a tentative date for two months from now," he eventually said. "But that's not certain. We need to finish the chunin exams before we even think about the jonin. Tell the ones who ask that we're keeping the exams in mind but nothing is set in stone yet. Hopefully that will keep them at bay long enough to get us past next month."

Naruto nodded, glancing at the clock, then did a double take. He surged to his feet, face panicked, eyes wide. "Crap! I'm late!" He gathered his things in a frenzy and practically flew out the door. "Sorry but I gotta go I'll see you tomorrow bye!" The door slammed behind him. Papers fluttered to the floor in his wake. Sasuke rubbed his temple and mentally ran through the reasons why Naruto was good to keep around.

"Time to go home," he decided, and stood.

They locked the door and walked together down the street until the market district. Neji veered towards the Hyuuga compound and promised to see him the next day. Sasuke took his usual route past the park, wondering absently if Sakura was going to cook again that night when a kunai flew past his ear, planted itself in the wall in front of him. The attached note promptly exploded.

Instantly on alert Sasuke leaped into the air and, catching sight of the attacker, flew through the hand signs to blast him with flames. One attacker turned out to be two and Sasuke had to cut his attack short to twist away or get a side full of sword. It was apparently a heavy sword. The earth cracked where it hit, leaving a crater at least three feet deep in it's wake.

Sasuke had a second to analyze the sword- at least eight feet long and three feet wide- before he was in the air again, Sharingan activated and scanning for the second attacker. The weight of the sword didn't seem to bother the wielder as he easily flew up to meet Sasuke in the air just as the second opponent came into sight. He vanished just as quickly and Sasuke was hit with something that burned impossibly hot and sent him careening towards the waiting sword.

He barely had time to draw his own sword and parry the attack before whatever had hit him before hit him again. Sasuke didn't even think about it. He powered his Chidori through his sword and swung in an arc that would cut whoever was behind him in half. His sword bit into flesh, his attacker cried out, and Sasuke kicked himself away from the other man, putting enough force into the kick to break a bone, but nothing snapped under him.

Sasuke landed a few feet away, sword at the ready. "Who are you?" he demanded to know.

The two weren't keen on answering. Sword guy flew into the air once more, too high to actually attack, so Sasuke turned his attention to the other, who was already in front of him, something glowing white hot in his palm. Sasuke moved to strike him with the sword but he darted away and back, missing Sasuke by inches when he tried to land the hit. The glow snuffed out in the man's palm only to appear around his shuriken that whizzed towards Sasuke's face.

Sasuke batted them away with his sword and dodged them easily, rushing the man and slashing, catching him across the chest this time, blood decorating his blade. He couldn't press the advantage as suddenly the large sword was very close and forced him back. Sasuke realized the only real thing the sword could do was crush and cut him. The sheer size of the blade was also the downfall. While it was a powerful weapon, its size left the wielder open due to the inability to quickly turn and defend.

Which was why they were attacking as a team. The other man was very very fast and whatever jutsu he was using burned skin with barely a touch. As he danced around Sasuke, weakening him with each blow, the other could attack him with the sword. While Sasuke was managing to dodge the attacks now, he knew that a few more hits with the white jutsu he'd slow down enough to be finished with one hit.

More kunai and shuriken flew at him, forcing him back. The sword came swinging down, the jutsu came burning at his back, and Sasuke had nowhere to go. He could either be crushed or be burned. Sasuke quickly decided to try his luck with the burn. As long as he was out of range of the sword, he should be alright.

And suddenly, there was a third person. They flew past Sasuke's shoulder and directly up to meet the sword head on. Free from the worry of the sword cutting him in half, Sasuke dodged the jutsu at the last second, catching the burning punch on his right cheek rather than his eye. He shoved his sword brutally into the chest of his attacker, setting the Chidori loose along the blade and into the body.

The sword shattered above him and clattered to the ground, each piece leaving a small crater in its wake. The attacker followed a mere second later, hitting earth with a sickening crunch.

With both attackers down, Sasuke had no problem giving his full attention to the rescuer. Ignoring the growing pain on his back and the searing pain on his cheek he started forward and watched as the third person checked the swordsman, then stepped into the light.

"He's still alive, but I thought you might want to question him," Sakura said. "You okay?"

"Hn." He wasn't about to tell her his back was basically on fire.

She seemed to know anyways. "Come here. I'll heal it and we can drag these two off."

Sasuke didn't know a lot about medical jutsus, but he was fairly certain that they shouldn't work so quickly. Sakura had just barely touched him when the fire on his back was extinguished, soothed by the touch of her chakra. Sasuke was suddenly aware his teeth had been clenched as his jaw relaxed.

"Better?"

Like suddenly walking into an air conditioned room on a hundred and fifty degree day. "Yes." He moved away before she could touch his cheek.

Sakura glanced at the body behind her. "He's dead. I can tell by the way he's laying." She checked his pulse just in case. "Where do we take them?"

Sasuke's answer was grim. "They're Root. We take them to the ANBU prison and interrogate the one that lives to find out who's trying to kill me this time." He sheathed his sword, rubbing his tired eyes.

It was going to be a long night.


	4. Of Burns and Phone Calls

Naruto burst into the room in a whirlwind of orange and loud noise, the door bouncing off the wall behind it and coming back to nearly smack the man in his face. Naruto ignored it and strode towards Sasuke, practically shoving the nurse out of the way.

"Dude, you okay?"

Sasuke flinched under the nurse's hand- that damn jutsu hurt and the nurse was not even trying to be gentle- and gave a curt nod to his friend. "Fine. Barely injured." Except for what Sakura had healed, but he wasn't about to mention that. It felt like admitting weakness if he announced that not only had he been injured, he'd needed battlefield healing from his soon-to-be-wife. He wasn't entirely sure what was the worst part, getting attacked, getting hurt, or Sakura having to jump in to help.

Which reminded him.

"Did she have any injuries?" he asked the nurse. She gazed blankly at him for a second before her face cleared.

"Your wife?" she clarified, slathering more balm onto his cheek. The cold was a sharp contrast to the active burning of his face and the resulting sting was reminiscent of a powerful slap.

"She's not my wife," Sasuke barked.

"Sakura was in the fight? Is she hurt? What happened?" Naruto was on the verge of babbling.

Sasuke growled, annoyed. Not only was Naruto's worried and curious babble growing in volume, Sasuke was pretty sure the nurse was putting more balm on him than was strictly necessary, running her fingers on his cheek to places that hadn't been touched by the jutsu.

"Sakura is fine," came a new voice. Sakura herself cut through the crowd of nurses that had gathered in the room, placing a calm hand on Naruto's shoulder. She turned to the nurse. "That balm isn't going to do any good; the burn is strange and jutsu based. It'll need to be healed." Like the others were, she didn't say but might as well have.

The nurse glared at Sakura, slamming the tub of balm onto the metal tray and grabbed a damp rag to begin scrubbing all her hard work right off the Hokage's cheek. She scrubbed harder than she should have, the blistered skin splitting pour blood onto her hand.

"Stop," Sasuke snapped, grabbing her wrist before she could do any more damage.

Sakura plucked the rag from her fingers. "I'll do it. You can go." The words were a suggestion, but her tone made it an order that the nurse found herself automatically obeying. Once it became clear the Hokage would only accept Sakura's medical treatment, people began to file out of the room. It wasn't like Sakura wasn't qualified, and if Sasuke wasn't going to argue, they wouldn't complain. He was usually an awful patient anyways.

Naruto watched Sakura get a clean rag, carefully dipping it into anti-bacterial solution before beginning to run it gently around the wound. He deliberately didn't mention Sasuke being a much better patient for her than the actual doctors. He was already in the hospital, but he didn't feel like checking in himself, thanks.

"What happened?" he eventually asked, eyes on Sakura's slim fingers gripping Sasuke's chin as she got him to tilt his head to examine the wound better.

"Got attacked on my way home," Sasuke said slowly, trying not to move his cheek too much as Sakura pressed the rag into the deepest open sore. "There were two of them."

"Three," Sakura admitted. "Someone got into the house and had a round with me."

Naruto didn't miss the way Sasuke's eyes cut right to her, running over her for any sign of injury. He gathered every ounce of his willpower in an iron fist to keep himself from pointing that out and instead asked, "Are you okay Sakura?"

She nodded, eyes focused on the burn. "Few cuts, all healed." She inspected the wound closely before gently laying her hand on Sasuke's cheek. "I'm going to heal this in layers day by day to see if your body can heal this naturally," she told him. "If you can't, I'll heal it the rest of the way, but for now I'm going to take care of the worst of it."

"Who attacked you?" Sasuke wanted to know, his voice a touch rougher than usual. Naruto wasn't sure if it was from the pain or something else.

Chakra flared between Sakura's fingers. "He didn't say his name. He was dead in the living room before I could get anything out of him." She gave a sheepish grin. "He freaked me out when he appeared and I put too much into my attack, so I was careful not to kill the other one. By the way, you're going to need a new bookshelf and coffee table. And probably new floors."

Logically Sasuke knew keeping one attacker alive was the best move. It would allow them to question him, get information. He knew they were Root- he had recognized the sword from the weapons inventory they had taken from the Root headquarters. Only Root could go in or out, and Sasuke knew he couldn't rule out theft, but considering Root was still baying for his blood after Danzo didn't get to play Hokage On High, he was sticking with his Root theory.

He hadn't taken that into consideration during the attack. He'd been focused on not dying rather than not killing.

"My attacker could do that white thing too," Sakura continued. "Burns like hell."

Naruto zeroed in on the bandage wrapped around her left arm, partially hidden by her sleeve. "I thought you said you weren't hurt!"

Sakura waved him off. "I told you, I need to see if the body can heal this. Doing two tests will produce more conclusive results and I'd rather not try to recreate that burn on anyone else." She secured the gauze to Sasuke's cheek and stood. "Keep the bandage dry. Off with the shirt, I need to check your back."

Despite his earlier luck at keeping his thoughts at bay, Naruto couldn't quite hold in the snicker and was quickly silenced by an Uchiha Glare.

Sasuke pulled his (now ruined) shirt over his head and tossed it into the bin in the corner. He turned to face Naruto, consciously trying to ignore the soft hands gently prodding his naked skin. Naruto was trying not to smirk and failing miserably. He tried to cover it by biting his lip, but that just made it worse. Sasuke narrowed his eyes but otherwise didn't react.

"Neji was on his way home. Was he attacked?"

The smirk didn't vanish as Naruto shook his head. "Nope, he's fine."

Sakura poked Sasuke's shoulder. "You're fine too," she announced. "Your back doesn't have a mark on it. I think the jutsu didn't actually hit your back but grazed you."

Sasuke grunted. "Find out if there were any more attacks," he ordered. "I doubt it, but make sure. I'm going to change. Meet me back at my house." He turned to Sakura. "Let's go."

Naruto chomped down harder on his lip to keep his smirk at bay, nearly biting through it when Sasuke, Mr. Rude Asshole Bastard, opened the door and ushered Sakura through it first.

* * *

><p>Sakura hadn't been kidding about the bookshelf. Or the coffee table. Or the floors. Sasuke wasn't exactly fond of his furniture, but the thought of someone barging in and trashing his house- not to mention attacking Sakura when <em>he<em> had been the target- made the anger flare up in him. He scowled at the mess in the living room as he passed, gritting his teeth so hard his jaw started to hurt.

"Sorry," Sakura said quietly from behind him. "Didn't mean to trash the place."

She thought he was mad at her? Sakura had been minding her own business, cooking something by the faint burnt smell coming from the kitchen, when some strange man had appeared in his house looking to attack him and catching her instead, injuring her, and she thought he was angry at _her_?

"You did what you had too," he said, pulling a fresh shirt over his head. Then, feeling like he should say something else, "I never really liked that table anyways."

Sakura turned to eye the remains of the (admittedly bland looking) table thoughtfully. "Still, these were your things. I feel bad."

"I'd imagine the attacker feels worse," Sasuke commented absently. He looked pointedly at the bandage covering her own wound and felt his cheek burn. "He was looking for me and in his own stupidity, found you and got himself killed."

"Then he's actually not feeling anything," Sakura quipped.

Sasuke smirked, oddly feeling himself repressing a chuckle.

An epiphany slammed into him like a lightning bolt.

"He was after you," he said half to himself.

Sakura blinked up at him. "You think?"

"The other two knew the route I usually take on my way home and attacked me there," Sasuke explained. "They were obviously a team and Root uses three man cells. Only two attacked me on the path, so why would one break off to come here?" His eyes strayed to her arm. "It doesn't make sense unless you were his target."

Sakura toyed with the end of her bandage. "That does make more sense than one of them came to check the house while two waited for you to come out of your office. It was obviously planned well; they knew someone would be coming out with you but they waited until you were alone." She blinked. "Come to think of it, our attacks were simultaneous. I thought I heard a fight and turned around to look out the window when I saw my guy."

Sasuke saw pieces begin to fall into place. "This was more than an assassination attempt. Not only were they going after the Hokage, they went after you, my future wife."

"It's a power struggle," Sakura agreed. She said nothing of the struggle to get 'wife' past his lips. "If they had managed to take you out, someone could argue that I should stand in your place. I wouldn't," she added. "I'd appoint Naruto."

Sasuke snarled. "Which is something else they want to prevent. Naruto isn't trained enough to take the position yet, but if you were to guide him..."

"Then why wasn't Naruto att-" Sakura's eyes widened. "He had a dinner date with Hinata tonight. He didn't head home, he went to her place."

Which meant there was someone else poised and waiting to attack. More likely an entire cell. With the Kyuubi on his side (and Naruto's growing ability to control the damn thing), he was becoming more and more of a threat to his enemies. Not that he really had many, but there were some out there. Akatsuki for one, and now apparently Root.

Sakura was nervously gnawing on her lip. "Naruto bailed early on his date to come check on you. If they figured out where he went, they could head for Hinata's."

"Naruto will go check on her before he comes here," Sasuke assured her. "He's fairly protective of her."

The phone rang, the ring cutting shrilly through the air. Sasuke started towards it. Sakura groaned and buried her face in her hands. "If that's my mother..." she started. At Sasuke's look, she elaborated. "She has this sixth sense about me. She knows when something happens and almost always panics about it before she's gotten the whole story."

Sasuke hesitated briefly before answering, cutting the phone off mid-ring. It could be someone else after all, Neji calling to see what had happened. Naruto to let them know he'd found and killed the cell, or that Hinata was alright or not. Ino calling to yell that he'd set her shop on fire.

It wasn't.

"Sakura is that you? What's happened? Are you alright?"

The resounding groan told him she'd heard and recognized the voice. "Give it here," she said tiredly.

Sasuke wordlessly handed the phone over, striding into the living room to better survey the damage as Sakura began distracting her mother.

She hadn't been kidding about trashing the place, not that he could really blame her. There was a pool of blood on his hardwood floors and he knew it was never going to come out. He'd have to tear the planks up and replace them. Or have someone else do it. One of the perks of being Hokage- they made sure your house was taken care of. His bookshelf was totally destroyed, only splinters left of a floor to ceiling shelf. The books themselves didn't look too damaged, just tossed everywhere.

The coffee table wasn't a real loss. It hadn't been very pleasing anyways. Tenten was always helpfully pointing out it clashed with his other furniture. Maybe now she'd shut up about it. If she wasn't due to give birth any second Sasuke would have considered letting her redecorate. She had a good eye for interior design and Neji liked it when their jobs overlapped. Since becoming pregnant she'd been off the active mission roster, but she'd used the time to do more designing jobs.

Sasuke was debating on repainting the wall versus scrubbing the blood off when the change in Sakura's voice caught his attention.

"No Mom," she said flatly. "There wasn't." Her lips thinned as her mother responded. "Because I wanted to. Sound had nothing to offer me besides a boring life as a nurse and I didn't want that. It had nothing to do with you." She rubbed her forehead as if fighting a headache. "Nothing you can say would make that happen. I have to go."

She hung up.

Someone knocked on the door, saving Sasuke from having to say anything.

"Ino's not happy about the shop," Shikamaru informed him, "but she wants to know if everyone is okay."

"Sakura and teme kicked those would-be assassin's asses," Naruto declared.

"Say that five times fast," Sakura challenged.

"We're fine," Sasuke told the dark haired man, ignoring Naruto trying to say 'assassin's asses' again. "And I will pay for the repairs to Ino's shop. Tell her to fix whatever she needs to and send the bill to me."

Shikamaru regarded him blandly. "She'll rob you blind," he said bluntly. "I love the woman dearly but she'll make you go broke in a heartbeat." He noticed Sakura in the kitchen. "Nara Shikamaru. You must be Sakura."

"I must be," Sakura agreed. "I may have to extend the damage to the kitchen. Dinner caught on fire and the wall between the living room and kitchen is bowing from where I was tossed into it."

Sasuke took one glance into the room and decided to let Tenten run rampant throughout both rooms. "I'll get Neji's wife to redo everything tomorrow," he told her. "We're going back to the office, then interrogation."

Naruto blinked. "We are?"

"The kitchen's a write off right now," Sakura mused. "Takeout for dinner?"

"Naruto's going with you." The words flew out of his mouth before he could think about them much less stop them. Neither Naruto or Sakura commented beyond a raised brow (Naruto) and a nod (Sakura). Shikamaru exchanged a quick look with the blonde behind Sasuke's back but wisely remained quiet.

"Ichiraku," Naruto informed everyone. "Requests?"

"Beef," Sasuke decided, handing Sakura a few bills. "And Naruto only gets one bowl."

"Stingy bastard."

"You're lucky I'm not making you pay for your own." Sasuke retorted. He turned to Shikamaru. "Alright, let's figure out what's going on."


	5. Of Redecoration and Babies

**A/N: **Reviews make me a happy Mockingbird! I'm so glad everyone seems to be enjoying this so far. Sorry I haven't been able to reply to everyone's reviews, but my boss has decided to give me more hours all of a sudden AND put me on call practically every day. But anyways! Fasten your belts ladies and gents, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

* * *

><p>They got nowhere with the interrogation. He was Root, which Sasuke already knew, but between himself and Sakura the man had been beat soundly enough that he was drugged. Not enough to completely eliminate pain (Kakashi had been put in charge of him and he hadn't taken kindly to the idea of someone attacking his former student) but enough to take the edge of and leave him in the right state of mind. Unfortunately, that meant the Root member was aware enough of his situation to know not to say anything.<p>

Kakashi said he'd keep trying, but they all doubted they'd get anywhere. They knew a lot already, but not enough. The team had been Root alright, but Sasuke had no way of knowing for sure if the team had acted on their own or with orders. If on their own, it would be a headache and some paperwork, but nothing to really worry about. If with orders, there would be an investigation, probably more attacks, and then Sasuke would have to eliminate Root.

Shikamaru didn't look happy with the results, but agreed more information was needed before action was taken.

"My money is on orders," he told Sasuke as they walked in the door. "It doesn't make sense for one team to act on their own like that. Sakura's attack was too unplanned."

Naruto loudly slurped up his noodles. "Wha oo mean?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. One of these days that idiot was going to choke himself to death. "If they had gone against orders, they would have been sneaking around to avoid being found out. They would have planned out every last detail, including attacking Sakura."

Sakura pointed to a covered bowl on the counter, giving Sasuke a good look at her bandage in the process. "That one's yours." She began digging in her pocket with her other hand. "I have your change too."

Naruto swallowed. "Why do you think they had orders?"

"I doubt there is proof of anything right now," Sakura mused, handing the money over. "But it doesn't make sense to have one man break off and attack me at the last minute unless he was told to."

"Wait, you were attacked on purpose?"

Nodding absently, Sakura took another bite of her ramen. "It's looking that way. And think about it, if this team was just trying to get rid of Sasuke, why attack me? They knew Sasuke's route home, what time he usually left, when he'd be alone, meaning I was a target as well. That has more foresight than a three man cell bent on revenge would be capable of. Someone has to be calling the shots." Sakura twirled her chopsticks around her bowl, gathering noodles as she went. "This stuff's good."

"Told ya," Naruto said smugly. "So wait, if you were a target and Sasuke was a target-"

"Why weren't you? You probably were but after Sakura and I dealt with our attackers, the rest of the plan was most likely called off." Sasuke broke his chopsticks apart and dug in to his own bowl.

Shikamaru nodded. "It wouldn't make any sense to attack Naruto if you hadn't been dealt with. They'll try again though, and they'll be more careful about it."

"Great," Sakura groused. "More setting the kitchen on fire."

As one everyone glance at the burned wall above the stove. Naruto abruptly started laughing, turning to Sasuke like he should know why he was having spasms.

"If I didn't know better," the blonde wheezed, "I'd say Tenten had planned it just to redecorate."

Shikamaru snorted, sending Naruto into another laughing fit. Sakura looked at Sasuke for an explanation, surprised to see him smirking.

"Neji's wife," he told her. "She was always on me about the lack of decoration I had."

Sakura's mouth formed an 'o' as she looked around. "And I just gave her the perfect excuse to redo the place." She glanced back at Sasuke. "The whole place or just what was ruined?"

"Knowing Tenten?" Sasuke shook his head. "All of it. I'll be lucky if she doesn't rearrange my bedroom."

Sakura looked like she didn't know if she could laugh or not and settled for an amused smile. "Shall I hide the silver?"

Naruto hadn't quite quit laughing, so Sasuke's chuckle was nearly lost in the noise, but Sakura heard it all the same. Sasuke tried to stop smirking and found he couldn't. He quickly busied himself with his ramen. It was good- Ichiraku had always been a favorite of his, but he couldn't see how Naruto ate nothing _but_ that. Then again, Naruto liked doing the unexpected so he should really be surprised.

"If that's the case, Ino was probably in on it too," Shikamaru muttered. "I'd better go make sure she's not on the warpath." He paused for a second. "She probably is. I'll go stop her."

"I'd better go too," Naruto announced.

"To check on Hinata again?" Sakura teased.

Naruto's flush was more telling than his denial and Sakura laughed him out the door. Sasuke quietly finished his ramen and wondered how much damage Tenten was going to do versus good, and how much it would cost him.

* * *

><p>"This color will have to go, we'll replace it with something more like a rich eggplant and balance it out with lighter hardwood floors. I'm so glad that table and the bookcase are gone- it would have been a pain to paint them." Tenten cut her rant short, running a hand absently over her protruding stomach. "Yeesh kid, you running a marathon in there?"<p>

Sakura threw a worried glance at Sasuke.

"Hey Sakura, you look like you have style. What do you think, black shelves and silver vases and stuff?"

"Uh, sure?"

Neji snickered.

Tenten scowled down at her stomach. "I'm telling you Neji, this kid is going to come out doing cartwheels and it's all your fault."

"How is that my fault?" Neji was interested in knowing.

"I sure as hell can't move like that. It's gotta be your doing." Tenten grabbed Sakura on her way to the kitchen. "I've heard the kitchen is your domain and I'm under orders to let you pick the colors." She threw a glare over her shoulder. Sasuke was sure it was meant for him but it landed in between the Hokage and her husband. Sasuke assumed Neji had pissed her off and smirked at him. Neji ignored him.

"I don't know... green?" Sakura said helplessly.

Sasuke had forgotten to warn her Tenten was a force not to be reckoned with. He should feel bad about that, but he supposed it was karma balancing out. Sakura, however accidentally, had destroyed two rooms and now she had to deal with Tenten and her color patterns while he hid in his office and actually got work done. After he was finished watching in amusement.

"What kind of green? I wouldn't go darker in this size room."

Sakura blinked. "Why not?"

Tenten waved her hand dismissively. "The darker the color the more the mood is affected and the room's so big it could cause arguments. Arguing with that one-" she jerked her thumb in Sasuke's direction "-is a lost cause anyways."

It was Neji's turn to smirk. Sasuke took the high road and ignored him, more interested in watching Sakura flounder in Tenten's wake.

"Light mint green then," Sakura decided. "With white trim. And." She turned to face the wall the table had been against. "This wall needs to be redone. I like the way it separates the kitchen from the hallway and living room, but it's bowing out now."

Tenten was nodding. Sasuke got nervous when Tenten nodded with that thoughtful look on her face. Neji wasn't even smirking at him.

"It'll have to be torn down and rebuilt," Tenten announced, turning to the men. "Feel like doing some demolition?"

Sakura smirked and cracked her knuckles. "Allow me."

Sasuke had read the reports on Sakura. He had a file complied on her that was two inches thick. He'd poured over her mission reports. He knew she was a ninja, a good one at that. He knew she trained under Tsunade, and he knew first hand what Tsunade was capable of. He figured Sakura would have picked up a few tricks from her mentor.

So he shouldn't have been surprised when Sakura, with nothing to protect her knuckles and barely any force behind the punch, leveled the wall in one blow. But he was.

"That was pretty awesome," Tenten admitted.

"All in the wrist," Sakura grinned.

"All in the chakra control," Neji added. "Still, that was fairly impressive."

Sakura shrugged and turned to Tenten. "How's that?"

Tenten looked absolutely beside herself. "Perfect. Neji, honey I love you but you can go now." She locked arms with Sakura. "I have a new best friend and we're going to make this place look fit for the Hokage."

"I am the Hokage," Sasuke pointed out.

"And you'd think Naruto lived here, but not after I'm done with it. Now, both of you need to stay out of the way." Tenten glanced at Sakura. "Tell me more about this sexy green you want so much."

Sakura burst out laughing.

Tenten grinned at her.

Neji and Sasuke retreated to the back of the house.

"You're reproducing with that woman?"

"How was I to know she was an evil genius?" Neji asked, smiling fondly over his shoulder. "Granted, I should have known when she redid our house, but you know what they say."

Sasuke was afraid to ask.

"Love is blind," Neji finished with a flourish.

"You've been around Naruto too much. I'm cutting you off." Sasuke handed Neji several files. "We need to start going through these."

Neji accepted the load and opened the topmost file. "The Root roster?"

"The known one," Sasuke confirmed. "Shikamaru's going through it as well."

"What are we looking for?"

"Anything suspicious. We don't have much to go on," he admitted, "but we've got to start somewhere. I won't have them attacking anyone again."

Neji nodded, already reading. A shriek of laughter floated through the open door, followed closely by the sound of several people hammering and sawing. The smell of paint wasn't overwhelming, but it wasn't exactly pleasant either. A radio was turned on, Tenten singing along well off-key. While Neji was used to Tenten's singing- and the subsequent raise in his heart rate- he was sure Sasuke found the screeching a more than a little distracting.

Yet Sasuke, Neji noticed, didn't move to shut the door.

And he wondered, briefly, if it had to do with the sound of a new voice and new laughter ringing out above it all.

* * *

><p>"Do you know what you're having?" Sakura asked over their lunch of sandwiches slapped together in the hallway.<p>

With the kitchen still being painted and sawdust in the air, Sakura couldn't exactly cook, but she seemed to know when everyone had gotten hungry and ordered a lunch break. They ate in the living room, where the paint fumes weren't too bad and the couch and chair meant there was enough room for everyone to sit comfortably. Or as comfortably as a pregnant woman could sit, which had prompted Sakura's question.

"The doctors think a girl," Neji said, noticing Tenten's mouthful. She grinned at him.

"You still aren't sure?" Sasuke asked, biting into his ham, mayo, and tomato combo. Sakura snatched the other one just before he could grab it. His fingers brushed lightly against her skin and he jolted. Sakura didn't seem to notice and bit triumphantly into her lunch.

"Kid won't sit still," Tenten muttered down to her stomach. "None of the ultrasounds have been conclusive."

"I could tell you if you want to know," Sakura offered casually, licking mayo off her thumb.

Tenten and Neji both looked at her with identical expressions of hope. Sasuke took a healthy bite of ham to hide his smirk. _You know what they say about couples_, he thought to himself with a snicker.

"Please," Tenten begged. "Knowing what color to paint the nursery would be wonderful."

"Or what clothes to buy," Neji added.

Sakura laughed and scooted closer to Tenten, chakra flickering gently in her hand. She placed her hand on Tenten's stomach, moving it around slowly before settling just below the top of the curve. Sasuke noticed with interest that Sakura's eyes had glazed over. She was looking at the wall, but Sasuke had a feeling she was seeing through Tenten to her child.

"You are seven months, two weeks, and five days," Sakura said in the silence. "The baby's perfectly healthy, just getting ready to turn around. You'll be earlier than your due date. And..." She smiled suddenly and removed her hand. "It's a boy."

Neji's eyes went wider than Sasuke had ever seen before. He smiled at his friend knowingly. "Congratulations," he said softly.

"A boy," Tenten said in awe, running her hand over her stomach lovingly. She grinned at her husband. "A son."

"A son," Neji whispered, touching his wife's stomach in wonder.

Sasuke watched them with a smile. He knew what it meant to Neji to have a son. He would have been happy with either gender, but to have a son of his own meant Neji would feel closer to his own late father. Neji hardly ever spoke of his father, but Sasuke knew how much he missed him.

And now he was having his own son.

"Okay honey, you can paint the nursery blue."

Neji laughed, kissing Tenten in joy before leaning closer to her stomach and the child within. "Hear that? You just helped me win an argument."

"First win?" Sakura laughed.

"And last," Tenten declared. "Get back to work dear. We have rooms to decorate."


	6. Of Cold Days and Nights

**A/N:** Hooray for filler chapters that mean nothing! And double hooray for my laptop that needs a new spring set because the lid keeps closing on my fingers as I'm typing. Writing this chapter with bruised knuckles waskdsl (IT HAPPENED AGAIN) WAS *glares at screen* so much fun. So I'm updating early in case my laptop has to be sent off for repairs for a while instead of just a few days. Plus my hours at work nearly doubled for the next two weeks. Busy Mockingbird is busy. Enjoy!a;odfsivh DAMMIT HP!

* * *

><p>With the wind howling outside and the branches clawing at his windows, combined with the utterly freezing temperature of the house and face, the latter of which only cold because he couldn't stand to sleep with his face covered, Sasuke knew it would be a while before he slept. So, thinking of the hot chocolate Sakura had purchased in the market earlier that day (she was always cold lately it seemed), Sasuke donned his robe and made his way through his cold dark house hopping Naruto hadn't eaten him out of house and home again.<p>

Maybe he should start budgeting for Naruto's eating habits. Sakura cooked enough for everyone- Tenten's cravings had started to include dishes only Sakura could whip up- but she was venturing to the market more than he ever did. Then again he only went when the milk started to smell, so maybe it was a good thing that Sakura went once a week.

She was still reluctant to take any money from him. Her money had finally been set up (after a nearly two month wait) and now that she had the correct currency, she had put her foot down about taking hand outs. She'd even tried to pay him back for what she'd spent. Apparently she'd been keeping track. They'd reached an impasse that caused them to butt heads more than once when Naruto, of all people, finally settled it.

"Give her the money to buy the stuff you want and let her get the rest. It's not that damn hard."

Sasuke hadn't ever thought about it before, but his tastes varied. Naruto called him a picky eater. Sasuke claimed he had cultured tastes. Neji just sighed and ignored them. Sakura loved sweets and often kept them close at hand. Sasuke didn't. Sakura bought one basket of tomatoes at a time. Sasuke had inhaled them before she could even chop them up. They both cringed at iceberg lettuce for a salad, but Sakura preferred fresh spinach leaves and Sasuke always held out for romaine lettuce.

Sakura was pretty good about cooking things that they both ate, which was a little unsettling considering he'd never mentioned much about what he ate, but there had been a few times he couldn't bring himself to eat whatever she'd created. She'd add blueberries to the pancakes (Sasuke preferred strawberries) or dice onions into something or another (he hated onions).

So every Wednesday when Sakura went to the marketplace, she found a list of Sasuke's requests next to a stack of bills. She always gave him exact change and always came back carting his items. It was working out perfectly, not that he'd tell Naruto that.

Today Sakura had come back with rosy cheeks, stiff fingers, and a large box of hot chocolate.

"It gets too damn cold here!" she'd declared, dumping the last of the bags on the newly sanded counters and zipping into her room. She with an overly large sweatshirt thrown over her long sleeved shirt and insanely fuzzy socks over the pair she was already wearing.

"Does Sound not have a winter?" Sasuke had wondered aloud.

Sakura made a face at him and set about making the hot chocolate. "Yes but usually it's over by now. I mean, it's March!"

Now that he was walking barefoot to the kitchen, Sasuke had to admit it was cold; his toes were slowly loosing feeling. A fireplace was being installed in the living room but it wasn't ready yet. Tonight would have been a perfect night for a fire: chilly wind, cold floors, and clouds that whispered promises of snow.

The kettle screamed as Sasuke came into the kitchen. Sakura shot out off the table and quickly moved the hissing teapot to the front burner, switching the back one off as she went. She was in large fluffy pajamas with colorful polka dots on them. And she seemed to be shivering.

"I think the heat went out," Sakura informed him, pouring the water into a second mug. "I can't feel my fingers."

Remembering that she drank her cocoa with milk, Sasuke turned to get it out of the fridge. "Probably. It tends to do that. There are extra blankets in the closet by my room." He handed her the milk. Their fingers brushed again and Sasuke jolted, this time because her fingers were like ice cubes. "Maybe you should just hold a cup of hot water for a while."

Sakura grinned. "Thought about it, but then my cocoa would be cold by the time I got to it." Finished arranging her chocolate just so, she took a big swig without blowing on it.

Sasuke's scalded his tongue, burning a trail of fire all the way down his throat and boiling away in his stomach. He let out a breath, swearing for a second it was steam passing his lips. His cheek throbbed absently, as if to remind him that he already had a burn. He took a bigger drink and felt his toes heat up again. He'd shed his robe in a few minutes.

Sakura sank backwards into a dining chair, studying the kitchen as she drank. Tenten had been great so far and everything was on schedule but she was itching to have the kitchen back and fully functional. She'd had to microwave meals for two whole days before the stove had arrived and been connected properly. Naruto had introduced her to Ichiraku's instant ramen. He hadn't understood why she didn't eat it for lunch and dinner both days.

"Is the color okay in here?" she asked suddenly, arranging her fingers so they'd all fit around the warmth of the mug. "I know you told Tenten I got to pick, but it is your house."

"Our house," Sasuke was quick to remind her. "You live here too."

Sakura shook her head, her pink strands swishing about her shoulders. "I have a room and I've claimed the kitchen but the rest of it's yours. Technically my rooms are yours too."

Her tone wasn't accusing and there was nothing hidden in her eyes. Sakura honestly felt like an invader in his home. Sasuke had no idea how to put her at ease- he'd thought giving her the kitchen had done that. He wasn't good with women, as Naruto was always quick to point out, and even worse with Sakura (though both Neji and Naruto claimed he couldn't make her mad if he tried; they were under the impression she was always either mellow or happy, never mad).

"We'll fix that," he said confidentially.

Sakura just looked at him. "If you say so." She drained the last of her chocolate. "Sometimes I think I have too much of my father in me to settle down anywhere."

She'd mentioned her mother before but this was the first time Sasuke had heard of her father. "He likes to travel?" he guessed.

"And then some. Drove my mother crazy. They got divorced over it." She grinned, unbothered by her separated parents. "I talk with him more now than I ever did when he was stuck under our roof. I get so many letters. I have a box like ten inches deep stuffed full."

Curious, Sasuke couldn't help asking, "Why does he travel so much?"

Sakura shrugged. "He just always did. Always used to say 'Sakura my girl, if you ever miss someplace other than the one you call home, then you call the wrong place home'. He never could find a place that he missed, so he just kept looking. He's been to more countries than I have and I'm an official representative." Her smile slipped a little. "Well, I was. Now I'm... now I'm me, whatever that means."

"Sakura" was quite a lot in his opinion but Sasuke said nothing and downed the rest of his cocoa.

Sakura was also still cold. He could see her still shaking. Feeling sleep pulling at him but not wanting to leave her shivering in the kitchen in what was obviously a funky mood, Sasuke got up to make himself more cocoa, taking Sakura's mug from her as she moved to stand.

"Sit," he ordered, shrugging out of his robe. "Put this on."

"But-"

"I'm not cold. Take it."

Sakura snatched it from his outstretched fingers and promptly draped it over her shoulders, grinning at the warmth leftover from him. The robe was huge on her. Sitting as she was with her feet on the chair and knees to her chest, the robe left nothing but her face visible. She had to roll the sleeves back to free her hands, snuggling down into the fluffy material as she did until everything below her eyes was hidden. Sasuke could tell she was grinning.

"I feel like I'm playing dress up in my dad's clothes again," her voice told him from the folds of his robe.

Sasuke smirked and handed her cocoa over.

"Dressed up often did you?" he asked for lack of anything better to say.

"Another thing that drove my mother nuts. I was a tomboy. Still am." She sighed theatrically and snuggled back into the robe without taking a sip, only gripping it to warm her fingers. "She thought having pink hair meant I was destined to be girly."

Amused, Sasuke arched a brow, clearly asking without speaking. Sakura narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'm a ninja. Ninja are not girly," she declared.

"I know a few who'd beg to differ."

"They're not good ninja are they? Hung up on their looks rather than their skills and dragging their team down with them."

Sasuke said nothing, only sipped his cocoa as his mind traveled to times gone. He winced at the sweetness, trading mugs with Sakura before speaking. "Every team has its weak spots."

"Yes but having someone not focusing at all shouldn't mean the whole team gets punished. I really wish teammates could rotate if it's clear no one is benefiting from the cell."

Thinking back to his own genin days with something close to a smile, Sasuke could only shake his head. "Sometimes you don't realize you're benefiting until it's crunch time." Like your first mission winding up being a lot harder than it should have been. Or insane chunin exams that only one person passed. "I had no idea why Naruto and I were paired together until we took the chunin test together. I still don't know why I keep him around, but he's a loyal friend and the best man I know."

Sakura smiled fondly, lost in memories of her own. "I was pathetic until Tsunade pounded some sense into me. Then I grew up pretty quick and focused on making my strengths even stronger. And now I can level walls with one punch."

Sasuke glanced at the new wall beside him, still unpainted but standing proudly.

"If I want to," Sakura amended. "I don't go around punching walls unless I'm mad."

"Neji and Naruto are under the impression that you don't get mad."

Sakura burst into laughter. "They should have seen me standing double watch in the rain on what was supposed to be my day off on no sleep."

"Sounds like a story," Sasuke commented wryly. He remembered double guard duty in less than good weather.

"I was so mad even Tsunade didn't want to mess with me. Though I did get to pick the punishment of the guy who was supposed to relieve me."

Sasuke was almost afraid to ask. He'd discovered Sakura's sadistic streak when Naruto made her burn dinner. She'd hidden his ramen from him and made him scrub all the pots clean before she gave it back. Naruto came over the next day wailing that she'd switched all of the packages and he never knew what flavor he was cooking. Hinata thought it was brilliant. Sasuke had a sneaking suspicion that Sakura was teaching her something other than cooking now, namely how to be sneaky about revenge on Naruto.

He wondered absently if he should be afraid.

He was pulled from his thoughts by a massive yawn coming from the inside of his robe. Sleepy green eyes peered at him when he chuckled.

"Go to bed. It's late."

Sakura burrowed deeper still into the robe. "But it's warm in here."

"Wear it to your room then," Sasuke said, taking their mugs to the sink. He was fading fast himself and decided to wash them in the morning. Sakura would wash them, he corrected. He never made it to the kitchen before she did.

"You're never getting this thing back," Sakura announced. "It's too comfy and warm."

Not at all frightened by her threat, Sasuke steered her towards her room. "Bed."

"What do you want for breakfast?" Sakura murmured. If he hadn't been standing next to her he probably wouldn't have heard her.

"Strawberry pancakes," he said at random.

"Blueberry," Sakura countered.

"Strawberry or I take back my robe." He tugged lightly on the sleeve, catching a glimpse of the bandaged wound around her arm. He wondered how it was healing but she spoke before he could ask.

"Fine, but I'm putting them on top of the pancakes, not in them. And I'm having whipped cream."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Your teeth are going to fall out."

"Yeah but I'll die happy. 'Night."

They went into their separate rooms, laid down in their separate beds, thought of the other with a smirk and a grin, and finally closed their eyes and went to sleep. They'd wake up happy, hungry, and wondering if they should have cocoa or coffee with their pancakes.


	7. Of Pain and Waiting

Sasuke and Neji were in his home office, pouring over Ino's bill reports (which, despite Shikamaru's assurances, were pretty reasonable) when they heard what sounded like a pot clanging to the kitchen floor. They both glanced at each other, waiting a beat to see if there would be any shrieks of pain before they worried. Tenten and Sakura were both in the house, but Tenten had been dozing on the couch the last time they'd looked and Sakura had just been starting dinner.

_She's never dropped anything before_, Sasuke thought absently. There was no need for alarm but he found himself tense in the silent seconds after the initial sound. Then they heard Tenten's startled gasp, which cause Neji to surge to his feet, followed by a cry that caused Sasuke to leap up as well: "Sakura? What's wrong?"

They'd no more than turned into the kitchen when Sasuke's cheek abruptly flared up in agonizing pain. He clenched his teeth to prevent from crying out. His right eye blurred, closing on reflex from the pain. The burn was hot under his hand, so hot it felt like it was eating through the bandage and melting the flesh right off his skull. Sasuke staggered back into the wall, fighting to stand.

Neji stood between everyone, unsure if he should go to his Hokage, grunting in pain, or his wife, pregnant and kneeling on the floor to help Sakura, fallen on her knees and bent double, gasping.

Sakura dug the nails of her right hand into the floor so violently small trenches appeared as her fingers curled. She held her left arm up to Tenten.

"Off," she gasped. "Take the bandage... off. Now."

Tenten wasted no time. A kunai appeared in her hand, sharp and glinting, making short work of the bandage. Sakura tensed even further as the bandage was peeled away, taking what seemed to be two layers of skin with it.

Neji turned on his heel to help Sasuke, but he'd already ripped his bandage off as well. Neji draped one of Sasuke's arms around his shoulders and guided him to a chair. Sasuke's hand was clenched into such a tight fist his knuckles were bleached. There was blood dripping down his fingers where his nails had bit into his palm and broken the skin there.

"Oh my god," came Tenten's horrified whisper. Neji glanced sharply at the women on the floor, his keen eyes locking onto Sakura's arm.

The burn was almost two weeks old. Sakura had been healing them little by little daily so there should only be a small red area surrounded by smooth pink skin. Instead the wound was charred black, the edges curling and puckering like the skin had just been stuck over an open flame. Neji could see a glimpse of bone shimmering through before blood suddenly poured from everywhere so quickly it filled the crater in Sakura's arm and spilled to the floor to form a rapidly growing puddle.

Alarmed, Neji sat Sasuke down less than gracefully and pulled back his hair to check his wound. It was definitely less severe than Sakura's but it wasn't good. And it was growing. As Neji watched the wound grew a centimeter in size, almost as if the burn was still active and eating the flesh surrounding it.

"What the hell?"

A pained groan and a small scream was his only answer.

Sakura sucked in a breath through her nose, keeping her teeth clenched to avoid biting through her tongue. Slowly she dug her nails out of the floor. Focusing so hard her head began to pound she channeled chakra to her hand, bringing it up to rest on the pulsing wound on her arm. Even the touch of her chakra felt like a white hot poker was being shoved through her skin and then wiggling around.

Tenten watched with wide eyes as Sakura, easily the best medic she'd ever seen, struggled to heal a burn that kept growing. After a glance at Sasuke and a quick mental calculation, Tenten realized his had grown three centimeters since he'd ripped off his bandage. If it kept growing like that it would soon reach his eye. It could blind him- it could even kill him if whatever this was traveled up his optic nerve and into his brain.

Sakura's sharp intake of breath brought Tenten's attention back to the pink haired woman. Her wound looked smaller, if only by a little bit, and it had stopped bleeding, but the chakra glowing in Sakura's had was much dimmer and sweat had formed on her brow. Afraid she was near chakra exhaustion, Tenten reached for her. She may be pregnant but she had enough chakra to transfer to someone damn it!

"I need to get to Sasuke," Sakura ground out, trying to push herself up using her good arm.

Sasuke hadn't heard her through the pain. His ears began to ring, making him oblivious to almost everything. His left eye spotted Sakura trying to stand but his brain didn't understand anything other than the pain that had taken residence in his cheek and eye. Slightly afraid that his Sharingan would activate and trap someone, he closed his other eye and tried to concentrate on something else, anything else.

And suddenly the pain began to die. Something cool trickled into the inferno, extinguishing the fire wherever it touched. Like running a fresh burn under cold water- the burn was still there but the pain was rapidly becoming bearable.

Sasuke risked opening his eyes to find his vision was full of pink. Sakura's hair had tumbled over her shoulders, providing a curtain that Sasuke, slumped over as he was, found himself surrounded by. He sluggishly managed to straighten, feeling like he was powering though mud with lead weights on every inch of his body. The pain faded to a whisper, dull and in the background, easy enough to ignore but undeniably there.

Before any of them could even speak, Sakura's chakra flickered out, her hand falling from Sasuke's wound. She folded in on herself, eyes rolling up, head snapping back, body crumpling like a toy that had suddenly had its batteries removed. She slipped through Neji's hands at her elbow, unaware of Tenten trying to lunge forward to catch her.

Sasuke simply fell from the chair, barely managing to throw one arm under her head to prevent it from bouncing off the floor. He caught himself, barely, on his other arm. He was certain the only thing keeping him from collapsing on top of Sakura was nothing but willpower on his part. Neji managed to slip an arm around Sasuke's back and pull him into a semi-upright position.

"She's-"

"She's okay," Neji assured, not sure if he was saying it to Sasuke or Tenten. "For now. Let's move her to the couch and call Ino, okay?" He tugged on Sasuke's half limp form. "Come on Sasuke, stand up."

Sasuke leaned heavily on his friend, unsteady on his feet, one question ricocheting around in his mind as he slumped into a chair fighting for consciousness.

_What happened?_

* * *

><p>"What the hell happened here?"<p>

Ino stood in the doorway to the living room, hands on her hips, engagement ring sparkling on her left hand, her face somehow questioning and demanding answers at the same time. Neji sometimes wondered if that was her default setting: 'If I don't know what's going on, someone better explain _now_ and it'd better be good.'

She went to Sasuke first, figuring Neji had called her and requested, well told, her to bring her medic kit because the Hokage had managed to hurt himself, but Sasuke stopped her with a glance, first at her and then at the couch. The back of the couch faced the way Ino had come in so she'd missed the woman stretched out on it until she'd half turned to see what Sasuke was looking at.

"Check her first," Sasuke ordered. He didn't seem to be blinking.

Unbothered by the command in his tone- he was Hokage after all- Ino veered towards the couch and sat on the coffee table for better access to the strange woman in the Hokage's home. She remembered something Shikamaru had said a while back about Sasuke's betrothed arriving, but Sasuke nearly destroying her shop had pushed the memory to the back of her mind.

Shikamaru hadn't mentioned that she was pretty. Then again if he had mentioned that, she would have had to beat him. He probably didn't notice anyway. Things like beauty meant nothing to that man. Unless of course it referred to Ino, then it was the most important thing.

Ino nearly recoiled in shock when she saw her arm. "What did she do?" she demanded, gently moving the limb to get a better look.

"It's actually not as bad as it was a few minutes ago," a shaky voice informed her. Ino glanced over her shoulder at the heavily pregnant, and very worried looking, Tenten. Neji stood next to her, rubbing her back soothingly.

"You okay?" Ino asked softly. Hokage's orders be dammed. If one of her friends was hurting she was helping them first.

Tenten nodded jerkily. "Fine. It's these damn hormones. I get overly worried about everything."

Sasuke's voice cut through the air like a sharp blade. "What's wrong with her?" he demanded, his tone bordering on something dangerous.

"You mean other than the burn that looks like it's eating her arm?" Ino snarked. She and Sasuke had gone to the Academy together since they were twelve. She'd even had a crush on them until they were about sixteen. He might be her Hokage and sign her checks every month but that didn't stop her from treating him like she treated everyone else. "Looks like just chakra depletion. She pushed herself too hard."

Sasuke supposed that made sense. Not only had Sakura taken a look at and healed a bit of his cheek this morning, she'd also checked on Tenten's baby and healed Hinata's hand when she'd burned it on the oven earlier. He'd seen enough of her healing techniques to know she didn't have to put a lot into her healings, but the burns always left her drained. Healing them both twice in one day- saving his life in the process _again_- had probably left her with next to no chakra at all.

Not to mention her burn was bigger than his. She'd had to heal herself and him while in pain. Knowing her she'd probably only healed her arm enough to not pass out before taking care of his wound completely. Sasuke had caught a look at his cheek in the reflection on the coffee table after Sakura had been situated on the couch. The burn was still red and angry, but there was no longer a chunk of missing skin or any charred flesh.

Sakura stirred faintly, eyelids fluttering but not opening. Ino pulled out a roll of gauze.

"I don't know what's up with that burn but it's not responding to my healing attempts. I'm going to wrap it for now and leave her to rest." She carefully cleaned the burn area and began rewrapping Sakura's arm. "Let her sleep for a while. If she's not awake in a few hours we'll try to rouse her."

Sasuke took that to mean Ino still had questions and wasn't leaving until they were answered. He was too tired for this.

"So she's okay," Tenten sighed relief pouring from her. She fought the urge to tear up. Damn hormones. Neji took her hand and squeezed, subtly kissing away the one tear that slipped past her lashes.

"Nothing you can really do with chakra exhaustion other than rest." Ino turned to Sasuke. "Right then. You come here. Let's see if yours will heal for me."

"Only Sakura can heal it." But he presented her with the wound and allowed himself to be prodded. With his head turned like that he could watch Sakura, assuring himself it was only because he wanted to make sure she was going to wake up.

She woke around nightfall, blearily telling Sasuke to let her heal his wound the rest of the way, falling back asleep before anyone could even speak. Satisfied that her patient was fine, Ino left with Tenten and Neji, promising to be back the following day to check on them again.

Sasuke, mentally exhausted from the day, threw a blanket over Sakura, gathered one for himself, and, eyes trained on the sleeping woman feet from him, waited. He waited for the sun to rise and warm the earth, however slightly. He waited for Naruto to barge in without knocking and demand to be told every detail of how they'd been hurt. He waited for the phone to ring with Sakura's mother on the other end. He waited for Ino to march back into his house to check on her patients.

He waited all night for something to happen.

But mostly he waited for green eyes to flutter open.


	8. Of Massages and Sparring

**A/N:** Don't look now but my sucky fight scenes are showing.

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><p>Sasuke abruptly realized, somewhere between sleep and consciousness, that if Sakura was a target in the failed assassination attempt, she'd continue to be a target until the problem was taken care of. Whether the problem be Root or Sakura.<p>

As he drifted to wakefulness, Sasuke's first coherent thought was that he wasn't going to let Sakura get killed. His second thought was that he was cold.

His third thought was that the couch was empty.

He woke up rather quickly after the last one registered.

But his momentary panic was short lived as he scanned the house for chakra signatures and found Sakura's in the kitchen. She was standing still but she wasn't harmed. Throwing the blanket aside to stand, wincing at the stiffness in his neck and back in the process, Sasuke made his way into the kitchen, finding Sakura no worse for wear standing in front of the fridge with a frown.

"I forgot to pick up something for breakfast," she said.

Sasuke was struck with the bizarre urge to laugh. They'd both nearly been killed yesterday by a flesh eating burn that was two weeks old and never really bothered them before, but Sakura was talking about breakfast like it was any other day and the stain in the corner wasn't her blood and the nail marks on the floor weren't hers.

She shut the fridge and turned to him. "How's your cheek? Does it hurt?"

"My neck hurts more," Sasuke said honestly, reaching up to rub it absently.

"You were pretty slumped over when I got up," Sakura said with a grin. "Here, let me see."

Sasuke blinked at her, backing up so she couldn't reach him. "You passed out from chakra exhaustion not even twelve hours ago and you want to heal me? Are you stupid?"

Sakura wrinkled her nose at him. "Not _every_ medical thing I know how to do involves chakra." She pulled one of the dining chairs out and turned it so he could straddle it. She pointed to it, looking at him expectedly. "Sit. And off with the shirt."

Sasuke wondered if she would try to force him if he didn't and if he'd have the strength to resist. With her superhuman chakra powered strength, he doubted it. Plus his neck did hurt and it wasn't like she'd ever tried to kill him before. So, slightly wary, Sasuke sat, resting his arms on the back of the chair, facing the wall. Sakura pointedly cleared her throat. With a scowl Sasuke pulled his shirt off and tossed it to the floor, glad that it landed so the nail marks were partially hidden from him.

Sakura ran her hands down his back, causing him to shiver as he was unused to people touching him like that (or at all really), but it was just a gentle pressure down his spine, before going to just under his shoulder blade to knead the muscle there.

"Did you know," she said conversationally, "that most of the time when your neck is stiff it's actually your back?"

"Really," Sasuke answered flatly, trying not to groan in appreciation as her hands hit a particularly tense and tender spot.

Sakura eyed Sasuke's back- trying her hardest not to notice how much _muscle_ he had- and decided it was safe to use a little force to loosen up the knots. Sasuke'd obviously slept in the chair to watch over her last night so there was no way she was going to let him go all day with a stiff neck. True to her word though, she wasn't going to use chakra. Her levels were fine now and would be back to full strength by noon at the latest, but she didn't want to use any if he was going to freak out about it.

Sakura's elbow hit just right and Sasuke slumped over the back of the chair, eyes closed in bliss. He could feel himself going limp as every knot he'd ever had loosened under Sakura's fingers. It felt good, like he was unwinding for the first time in a very long time.

"You must carry the weight of the world on your shoulders," Sakura commented, her hands traveling further up to the junction between his shoulders and neck. "They're so stiff."

"Feels like it sometimes," Sasuke admitted. "Being Hokage's not easy."

Sakura made a noise of assent and dug a litter harder into his spine. Yet another knot. Did this man never relax? Even Tsunade took days off. More than she probably should, but she worked herself to the bone first to justify it.

"Naruto has no idea what he's in for," Sasuke muttered.

"Why does he want the job so badly anyways?" Sakura asked, switching elbows as her arm got tired. "He told me that it was his dream."

Sasuke wondered how much Naruto had told her. He liked Sakura and trusted her, but it usually took Naruto years to outright tell others about the Kyuubi. Sasuke wasn't entirely sure Hinata knew, part of the reason he didn't push Naruto more to ask her out. As sweet as Hinata was, there was still a risk that she'd reject Naruto when she found out, and as much as Naruto loved her, it would utterly crush him if she did. Sasuke doubted she would, but the risk was high, so he stayed out of it.

He still thought Naruto should man up and ask her out though.

"That's... something for Naruto to tell you," he finally answered. As much as Naruto liked Sakura, and as much as Sasuke was starting to trust her, he wasn't willing to take that chance just yet. Something protective stirred faintly in him as it always did whenever someone brought _that_ up, but Sasuke pushed it away. Sakura didn't know. She was just asking.

Sakura's hands paused at his shoulders as if she knew what he was thinking, but she continued after a moment, as if to say she understood.

Sasuke was beginning to think she really did.

* * *

><p>"Ha ha! You hit like a girl!" Naruto taunted, trying to hide his wince.<p>

Sasuke didn't so much as blink, just dropped into a crouch faster than anyone could see and kicked Naruto's legs out from under him. Naruto's reflexes were good though and he rolled smoothly out of the fall, throwing a grin at Hinata.

Neji saw the grin and itched to join the fight. Tenten patted his arm knowingly. "Down boy," she cooed.

Sakura watched the taijutsu battle continue. "Do they do this often?" she asked.

Everyone snorted at the same time. Sakura vaguely wondered if she'd missed something.

"They try and spar daily," Hinata answered, voice quivering as she fought her stutter. "Hokage-sama likes the exercise and Naruto-kun want to beat him so they both wind up happy. Naruto-kun especially if he lands a good blow."

"Usually they're doing jutsus and setting things on fire though," Tenten added, rubbing her back. "Honey my back hurts." Without missing a beat Neji begin rubbing her back. Tenten moaned gratefully, hands folded over the bulge of her belly. Sakura and Hinata traded amused smiles, wincing as one when Naruto went flying backwards and hit a tree. He lay dazed for a second before scrambling to his feet to dodge Sasuke's incoming punch.

"Did you want to spar with someone?" Hinata asked. Sakura turned to her. "I noticed you're wearing your weapons holder," she explained, nodding to the small pouch at Sakura's hip and the holder at her thigh.

"I've been wearing those when I go out. The attack's got both me and Sasuke kind of jumpy. I don't want to be unprepared again." She watched Sasuke nimbly dodge Naruto's blows. "Though it'd be nice to spar. I haven't done it in a while."

"You could fight Naruto," a new voice said in a lazy drawl. Sakura had felt him appear and turned to see a tall man with silver hair, only one visible eye, and a bright orange book walking over. As he got closer he slipped the book into his pocket, raising one hand in greeting.

"Yo."

"Kakashi-sensei you're late!" Naruto bellowed. He promptly received a swift kick in the stomach that sent him sprawling.

"That's three times. I win."

Naruto scowled up at Sasuke, accepting the hand that was offered and pulling himself upright. He broke into a grin when Kakashi repeated his idea, running over excitedly to Sakura, pouncing on the old fence everyone was gathered around to stand on one of the logs that acted as a barrier.

"Yeah! Wanna Sakura?"

Sakura pursed her lips, considering. A nice sparring match did sound good. It had been way too long since she'd sparred for the fun of it.

"Come on Sakura," Naruto whined, hoping up to the next log. He teetered dangerously. "Mine and Teme's matches aren't good exercise!"

"If you'd put actual effort into our matches you'd get some exercise," Sasuke commented blandly, sipping from his water bottle. He was curious if Sakura would take Naruto on. He'd been wanting to see what she could do but he wasn't too eager for another attack. A sparring match would be perfect. And if Naruto got beat up, it was a bonus.

"Okay," Sakura decided, rooting around in her weapons pouch. "Chakra or no?"

"You good to do chakra?" Naruto asked with concern. Sasuke had told him about what had happened. As much as he wanted to spar with Sakura, his fun could be put on hold in favor of his friend's well being.

"Oh yeah," Sakura assured him, pulling a pair of black gloves from her pouch and slipping them on with a grin. "Come on, let's fight." She pulled out her headband, setting about tying it to the crown of her head to keep her hair out of her face.

"Oi! That's a Sound headband!" Naruto protested.

"It's the only one I have," Sakura defended. Then playfully added, "What, afraid to lose to someone not from here? Aw, don't worry, I won't hurt you too badly."

"She's rather eager to jump into the action," Neji mused aloud, still rubbing Tenten's back. "Did Naruto make her burn something again?"

"She misses sparring," Hinata explained, watching as Naruto practically twitched with excitement.

"Okay so if you hit the ground and stay down for more than three seconds it counts. Three times and you lose," Naruto was explaining. "Got it?"

Sakura dropped into a crouch, her grin almost ferrel. "Got it." She slid one foot back further, her bandaged arm coming up in front of her, hand curled in a loose fist. "Come on then."

Ino wandered over, med kit in tow. "What's going on?"

They weren't entirely sure what happened. Naruto charged Sakura and punched, but his fist met nothing but air. There was a blur, the sound of a body hitting the ground, and then Naruto was blinking up at the sky and wondering how the hell Sakura had managed to move that fast and why the hell he hadn't seen her move in the first place.

"That's one," Sakura called from a distance. "Take this seriously Naruto. I thought you wanted a work out."

The shock passed and Naruto surged to his feet with a grin. "Oh you are _so_ going down. I ain't gonna go easy on you now!"

His hands came together to form the sign of the jutsu he did best. Clone after clone after clone surrounded Sakura, all of them smirking at her, determination burning in their eyes. Sakura smiled lightly and faked a yawn. The clones charged her all at once. Naruto was sure that with the sheer amount alone he'd be able to get her down and hold her. Then he'd have a point and it'd be nothing to do it again.

But Sakura simply held out one finger. Just one. And she bent down and touched that one finger to the ground. Just as the first of the clones were within punching distance Sakura flicked the ground and watched it shatter, Naruto's clones vanishing in clouds of smoke faster than they had appeared.

Ino leaned over the fence. "Holy shit!"

Naruto had only lost his footing but his shock at such a casual display of strength made him stay down longer than the required three seconds. Eyes wide, he could only stare at Sakura as she straightened slowly, like she had all of the time in the world. She raised her hand again, this time displaying two fingers.

"That's two."

Naruto barely remembered to close his mouth. "How did you-"

"Gonna stay down there all day?" Sakura asked with faux concern.

He was up in a flash. "Hell no! I'm gonna kick your ass Sakura, just watch!"

"I'm hearing a lot of talk Naruto," Sakura needled.

Naruto charged again. Sasuke could almost see the wheels in his head turning, trying to figure out a way to beat Sakura. He was thinking about his moves, each punch, each kick carefully though out and considered, the next step already in motion before the hits were thrown. _At least he's taking it seriously now,_ Sasuke thought with a smirk. Maybe now he could actually get Naruto to train rather than just throw punches.

The mistake was so simple. Sasuke saw it the second Sakura did. Naruto's stance was a little too wide for the next punch, throwing his balance off the slightest bit. Sakura spun around the punch, using the momentum to fly straight at him before he could realize she was there.

Naruto knew he was going to lose before she even touched him. But that didn't stop him from trying to land another blow. He brought his other arm forward for a hit, but Sakura simply wasn't there. She spun again, this time down and around to be behind him, grabbing him mid-spin. By adding more force to her spin Sakura had more than enough leverage to pick Naruto up and simply toss him. He bounced, skidded, and slid all the way to Sasuke's feet.

Sakura's grin was brilliant. "Sound beats Konoha," she taunted playfully. Naruto glanced upside down at her and growled.

Ino gaped. "Wow. She's something."

Kakashi studied her closely, an idea churning in his head. As Sakura got closer, the idea got stronger until it was decided. Sakura reached out to pull a stunned Naruto to his feet and Kakashi, wondering just how much Tsunade had taught her, called out.

"Would you be willing to fight me?"

Sasuke nearly choked on his water. Managing some undignified sputtering and a few coughs, the Hokage turned to his former teacher who, despite having next to none of his face showing, somehow managed to look amused. Sasuke glared, daring him to say something.

Naruto practically fell into Sakura, who staggered under the unexpected weight. "You-" he started, righting himself. "You want to fight Sakura?"

Kakashi grinned under his mask. "Well yes and no." He pulled one hand from his pocket, holding a small red string between his fingers. Attached was a bell that jingled slightly in the wind. Sasuke knew where this was going and could only stand, stunned and staring as Kakashi announced to them all; "I want Sakura to do the bell test."


	9. Of Crowds and Raises

"You have to!" Naruto declared, his defeat momentarily forgotten in favor of the thought of Sakura beating the crap out of Kakashi, nearly vibrating in anticipation.

Sakura was less than thrilled. "Are you nuts? I'll get my ass kicked." She pinned Kakashi with bland yet calculating eyes. "I know exactly who you are and what you can do. My skills are no match for yours and I have no desire to prove that in front of everyone."

Sasuke followed her gaze as it slid past Kakashi, realizing for the first time that a crowd had gathered during Naruto and Sakura's match. It was public knowledge that he and Naruto sparred almost daily, but the sight of Naruto losing to Sakura, who had to be known around the village by now (it had been three months after all, nearly four really), was enough to draw more than the usual people. Sasuke saw several familiar faces in the crowd. Shikamaru had even worked his way to Ino, somehow studying Sakura with interest and looking bored at the same time.

Sasuke caught someone muttering about Sakura's headband and turned to pin a glare on the man, increasing the glare intensity when he realized the man who'd spoken was a suspected Root supporter and member. They'd yet to make any headway on the surviving attacker and were only able to hold him on charges of attempted manslaughter, heavy on the _attempted_ part. It frustrated them all, but it had been half a month and they were still empty handed.

He realized Sakura was studying the crowd and, knowing she could hear what he could, stepped forward in Hokage Mode, speaking so only their group could hear.

"Beating Kakashi would be bad," he said flatly, "but turning down his offer might be worse."

Sakura carefully schooled her features so no one in the crowd could see what she was thinking, but Sasuke, standing as close as he was, could just make out a small furrow between her brows and the slight downturn of her mouth. She was thinking very carefully about what consequences her actions could cause.

"I won't be able to beat him," Sakura said matter-of-factly. "But I think it would do everyone some good to see a little of what I can do."

Sasuke studied the crowd, taking in the number of civilians, ANBU, and suspected and known Root. It was a good idea, a sparring match in front of everyone so they could judge on their own what to think of Sakura, but if she beat Kakashi despite her protests while wearing a Sound headband... it would be all too easy for one tongue to spread word and for one mind to hear that Sound had sent a powerhouse to take care of the strongest ninja in the village.

He felt disappointed, knowing he probably wouldn't ever be able to spar with Sakura until the villagers weren't so wary of her. He suddenly understood why they had to wait a year before they were supposed to marry; a waiting period would give everyone time to see for themselves what kind of person Sakura was. She was to marry the Hokage, why rush the wedding? It would make people suspicious if they were married quickly.

Though a year had never seemed shorter to him.

"I want to spar with you," Sakura was saying to Kakashi, "but I don't think I can pull out all of my mentor's moves just yet."

"Understood. Just try and get the bell from me." Kakashi tied the said bell around his belt, thumbing his headband carefully, thinking. "But I won't be going easy on you."

Translation: if everyone sees I'm taking this seriously, they wouldn't blame you for pulling out all the stops either.

Sasuke and Naruto exchanged slightly nervous glances. The last time Kakashi had done the bell test, they'd been out long into the night and nearly destroyed half of the forest trying to get those damn bells. They got them, naturally, but it had taken a good long while for clean up and they were all so sore and banged up they had been taken off the mission roster for a week. What was Kakashi going to do in a regular sized practice field?

"Sakura's a medic," Naruto said randomly. "I think she'll be fine."

Hinata got the impression he was trying to assure everyone that Sakura could take care of herself and smiled at him. "Yes," she agreed firmly, deliberately pitching her voice so the crowd would silence. "This will be an interesting match between two different sets of skills. Sakura is a genjutsu type is she not?"

Sasuke was tempted to tell Naruto to kiss Hinata for her brilliance. Everyone knew Kakashi had the Sharingan, and now they knew Sakura was best with genjutsu. With a bit of crowd psychology, they could pound it into everyone's minds that it was just a simple spar. Kakashi wanted to see what Sakura could do, not start a war.

Apparently Naruto had developed telepathy. He grinned hugely at Hinata, throwing his arm around her shoulders to give her what would appear to be a casual squeeze. His other hand was in his pocket, fist probably clenched to avoid reaching for her entirely. Hinata had a slight dusting of pink across her cheeks, but her back was to the crowd and only Sasuke could see it.

Sasuke deliberately stood between Neji and Naruto, smirking when Tenten dragged him away, claiming she needed to sit down in the shade.

He turned his attention back to Sakura, catching her touching her headband and wondering if she was thinking of removing it. But her hand lowered and her the music note remained resting in her hair. Her distinctive locks were probably too long to risk fighting without some way of keeping them out of her face- just barely past her shoulders, but enough to block her vision if she wasn't careful.

Sasuke spotted a mane of red hair moving his way and very nearly teleported to his office. Interesting sparring match be dammed, he wasn't going to stick around and put up with-

"Hello Hokage-sama," a voice purred.

It was only years of training and his massive amount of willpower that kept him from flinching.

"Karin," he acknowledge flatly, careful that his voice held no emotion whatsoever. Adding any kind of honorific onto her name made her either pout or squeal and he wasn't in the mood to put up with either. He kept his eyes trained forward, watching Sakura fall into a crouch. The match had begun.

Karin moved well into his personal space, distracting him from seeing what had happened, but the next thing Sasuke saw was the ground being cracked away and Kakashi flying into the air to get away from Sakura's fists. Sakura was almost smirking her smile was so smug. Apparently she hadn't been kidding about Tsunade teaching her, but he doubted it had been "just a few" things.

Kakashi had learned his lesson about testing the waters and decided to dive in. The hand signs were blurred but Sasuke knew what was coming next. Sakura rolled away from the ball of flame, singed but no worse for wear. She sank into the ground and reappeared just behind Kakashi, who leapt away so quickly Sasuke could barely follow him. But Sasuke knew why his former teacher was trying to keep his distance. If Sakura so much as touched Kakashi with her chakra, he'd be out.

"Why's he keeping away from her? He could beat her no problem. She can't be that strong," Karin said scornfully, her voice changing to what she probably thought was seductive as she turned to Sasuke, dangerously close to nuzzling his shoulder. "After all, anyone who trained you has to be strong."

Her voice was starting to grate on Sasuke's nerves. Karin had never respected his personal space, much to Naruto's equal parts disgust and amusement. They all found Karin to be a "pushy, selfish, greedy bitch" (according to Ino), but the way she latched on to Sasuke had been known to make even Neji a little on edge.

Karin thought she had special rights to Sasuke because they'd once gone on a mission together and he'd reported her chakra signature skills to be useful. Apparently that gave her permission to practically stalk him.

"If Sakura so much as taps Kakashi while her hands are glowing like that, she'll win," Sasuke bit out, stepping away from the redhead.

She didn't get the hint, following him with a glazed over look. The ground shook as Sakura left another crater (and spewed some colorful swears as Kakashi danced away again), but Karin paid no attention to the battle that had riveted so many. Instead she caught up with Sasuke, standing even closer once she had. There was no way she didn't hear the sounds of metal clashing on metal, or feel it when Sakura cracked the earth or Kakashi let fire spew from his lips.

Then again, Karin was often oblivious when he was around. It was a sound enough argument that he was pardoned from missions with her after she had nearly gotten them all killed on the battlefield.

"Hey Sas- Hokage-sama!"

Sasuke had never been more glad for Ino's existence. Ever. He didn't bother making excuses, just shrugged Karin off and stalked away, sure his face was set in a dangerous scowl that Ino met with a large grin. Shikamaru wisely hid his face in Ino's shoulder and tried to control his laughter.

"I saw that bitch bothering you," Ino said, turning to watch Sakura get tossed into a tree, breaking it in half. She waited until Sakura stood up again before continuing. "You owe me."

Karin, knowing Ino was engaged to Shikamaru, wasn't threatened by Ino being around Sasuke but by Ino herself. After Karin had followed the blonde around for an hour screeching about her being at Sasuke's house- for a _mission briefing_- Ino had used her signature technique on her and made her strip in the street, singing 'I just can't wait to be king' at the top of her lungs. It had been recorded and hadn't stopped circulating since. That had happened six months ago if memory served.

Sasuke violently massaged away his headache. "About that raise you wanted..."

They all heard the snapping of bones at the same time. Naruto barely managed to yank Hinata to him and get them both out of the way of the missile that was Sakura being hurled through the fence, rolling several times before coming to a stop in a newly formed trench. She coughed, blood bubbling past her lips, one hand already on her stomach to repair the damage.

Sasuke was in front of her before he realized he had moved, a Sharingan glare fixed on Kakashi. "You're done," he growled.

Kakashi weakly waved him away. "Yes, we both are."

Sakura spat out the blood gathered in her mouth and sat up, smirking. "Got your ribs huh?"

Sasuke and Naruto helped her stand. Naruto released her quickly to double check Hinata who had been thrown to the ground by his tackle. The dark haired woman smiled in assurance, eyes sliding to check Sakura. She was standing, one hand placed on Sasuke's shoulder, balancing on one foot to examine her ankle. Ino made a face at the obviously broken bone. Broken ankles were never fun. But Sakura gripped her foot for a second before letting go, putting her full weight on it to reach for Kakashi.

"So, you guys are finished?" Naruto asked.

In answer, Sakura, checking to see if she'd actually broken Kakashi's ribs- she knew she'd managed to crack a vertebrae or two on him but ribs were a different story- tossed something in Naruto's direction. Sasuke and Naruto both stared, stunned, at the bell sitting innocently in the dirt.

"I'd call it a tie wouldn't you?" Kakashi asked the medic, catching his breath quickly as the sharp pain in his side died.

"Something like that," Sakura agreed. "I mean, I got the bell but you probably could have gotten it back. With all of my broken bones it wouldn't have been a problem for you." She mock glared at him. "I can't believe you'd throw me through a tree."

"And a fence. And into a crowd. And almost into Hinata." Ino reminded her helpfully. Shikamaru grinned at her. Sasuke scowled.

"Tone down the death glare Sasuke," Kakashi drawled. "I'm not going to kill her."

Sasuke blinked, not realized he'd be glaring. But it had risen his hackles when Sakura had mentioned her injuries. He had no time to ponder this as the crowd, realizing Sakura had gotten the bell, began to clap. Then someone started cheering and soon everyone, with one miffed redheaded exception, was rushing forward to try and talk to Sakura.

"Maybe we should get her a Konoha headband," Naruto mused out loud, tugging Hinata away from the mass of people, subtly eyeing her for any injuries.

Sakura, having dived behind Sasuke when the crowd had surged forward, just blinked at Naruto. "But I've passed the Sound requirements for ninja, not Konoha," she pointed out. "Sound Academy and Konoha Academy have to be different."

Sasuke turned to see her over his shoulder, lips twitching at the sight of her. "You just beat an S-ranked ninja. You qualify."

"I didn't beat him- we tied!" She insisted, still hiding behind him.

"When did you become S-ranked?" Neji asked Kakashi, who shrugged, winking at an amused looking Tenten.

"Five minutes ago apparently." He turned back to his former student. "Does that mean I get a raise?"


	10. Of Healing and Birthdays

Once upon a time Sasuke went home after a long day at the office to a quiet and empty house to eat whatever wasn't rotting in his fridge. Sasuke remembered those times with a slight scoff. He used to expect Naruto to follow him home and bug him for a little bit before scampering away, but lately he'd been coming home to a scene like the one before him.

He'd no more than tossed his keys on the end table- even though Tenten had installed a key hook, but only Sakura used it- when he heard what had to be at least three different voices coming from the kitchen, picking Sakura's laughter out immediately despite the noise and instantly felt his mood get better.

Sasuke hadn't had a good day. There had been good parts, but the day itself had been overall bad. First there had been a riot at the prison resulting in the death of a guard and the injury of two others. Nobody had escaped but the Root attacker had died. Had been killed, Sasuke corrected himself. The riot was suspected to have been a distraction so an assassin could slip in and out, or a paid prisoner could do the deed themselves. Sasuke believed the Root member could have even committed suicide, but there was no way to really prove anything just yet.

Not to mention his cheek had taken to throbbing in the middle of the day, just after he'd had to deal with a few escape attempts. It wasn't a painful throb, more like a light pulse to remind him that the burn was still there. Naruto had gone to check on Sakura after Sasuke had admitted his cheek was bothering him, returning with Sakura herself in tow.

"Your arm isn't bandaged," Sasuke noticed, standing from behind his desk to meet her halfway and examine her now very faded wound himself. He took her arm carefully, not sure if it still hurt, and slowly ran his fingers down the length of the burn. It was no longer black and charred, but smooth like new skin growing back. It felt like an old burn should feel like- like it was healing.

"You figured out how to heal it." It wasn't a question. Sasuke had all the evidence he needed in the form of soft skin under his fingers.

Sakura nodded, shaking his grip to squint at his burn. "I was reading up on forbidden jutsus and I found one that sounded like what we had been hit with."

Sasuke and Naruto watched with undisguised fascination as white flames danced up from Sakura's hands. The furrow between her brows had reappeared and Sasuke knew the jutsu had to be difficult if she was struggling with it. Though the knowledge could help him with what, and who, he was looking for. If Sakura could do the jutsu, that meant you had to have excellent chakra control to be able to control the flames. That would narrow down the suspects.

"It's called Shiroyaki, or White Burn," Sakura explained, yanking Sasuke out of his thoughts. The flame in Sakura's hand snuffed out. "The reason none of the medics could heal the burn is because it feeds off your chakra."

"The burn eats your skin because you have chakra?" Naruto yelped. "That sucks!"

Sasuke touched his cheek absently. "Medical jutsus would be ineffective against them because most medics inject their chakra into their patients to examine the wounds before they heal them."

Sakura nodded. "Which is why I was able to heal yours over time. I had examnined my wound- I looked at it every day before I healed yours." She studied her arm. "I didn't probe you with my chakra because I already knew what the burn was doing."

"But aren't all medical jutsus just that? Jutsus?" Naruto asked. "They all use chakra, right?"

Sakura turned to smile smugly at her friend. "Not all of them. All medics use chakra to heal the wounds, yes, but not all of them can heal without letting their own chakra leak into the patient." She turned back to Sasuke. "You haven't been using your chakra lately. You've been focusing on taijutsu with Naruto, so your levels haven't changed. Which means-"

"The burn had nothing to feed on," Sasuke finished.

"Taijutsu sparring was my idea," Naruto declared. "I totally saved your face teme!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Sakura, who grinned.

"A few weeks ago when our burns felt like they were fresh? I think that's because I'd used so much of my chakra that day and some of mine leaked into you." Sakura admitted sheepishly. "I was a little careless about the healing after everything else I'd done that day."

Sasuke considered it. "That would certainly explain why we were in pain at the same time." He nodded at her arm. "How did you heal that? If chakra makes it worse, surely healing yourself would have hurt." While Sakura could possibly heal his wound without hurting him, healing herself meant a spike in chakra levels, which meant the burn would act up again.

"Yeah, there is a trick to it," Sakura admitted. "I figured it had something to do with chakra after the sparring last week. I felt like my arm was going to fall off."

"You were in pain?" Sasuke asked sharply. At Sakura's nod he growled. "You should have said something."

Sakura waved away his annoyance. "It's not like you could have done anything. Besides, if it hadn't hurt like that I wouldn't have figured out the whole chakra thing. It really helped me narrow down the possible jutsus." She grabbed Sasuke's chin and turned his head. "And if I hadn't figured out the jutsu, I wouldn't know how to heal it."

Sasuke twitched. Naruto wondered if he was trying to get away from the fingers that held his face firmly. "Won't it hurt you to heal someone?" Naruto asked knowing Sasuke wouldn't. "I mean, you do still have a burn."

"Nah, it's fine," Sakura assured him, bringing her hand to rest against Sasuke's cheek. "I'm as healed as I'm going to get now. My body will have to do the rest."

Sasuke frowned. She couldn't heal herself fully and she was going to try and heal him?

"I'll probably have a mark for the rest of my life, but your burn isn't as bad as mine was." She grinned. "Not to mention I know how to do the healing jutsu now."

Chakra flickered between her fingers, but for the first time her chakra wasn't a warm green but white, and eerily similar to the flames that had danced in her hand minutes before. Sasuke found himself wanting to shy away from Sakura, realizing that her white chakra looked far too much like the jutsu that had caused the wounds in the first place.

"There are three parts to this jutsu," Sakura was saying softly, concentrating on the healing. "Shiroyaki, Shiro No Kasai, and Hi No Iyashi. I was hit with Shiroyaki, you were hit with Shiro No Kasai, and what I'm doing now is Hi No Iyashi. Only Hi No Iyashi can heal burns left by Shiroyaki or Shiro No Kasai."

Sasuke was still as a statue even after Sakura had proclaimed him healed, running her fingers over his cheek to check for any remaining burnt skin. Naruto snickered at him from the other side of the room, prompting a glare from the Hokage. Sakura didn't seem to notice, oblivous to anything not involved with the burns.

"Now we hope no one else gets hit," Sakura said tiredly. "I don't have the energy to heal more than two people a day."

Sasuke took one look at her and knew she was at her limit. How many times had she tried the jutsu on herself before she got it right? How much pain had she been in before she had been able to heal herself? He opened his mouth to tell her to go home and rest, but Naruto beat him to it.

"Come on Sakura-chan," he'd said. "I'll walk you home and then you should nap, okay?"

And so Sakura had left with Naruto.

Sasuke's mood, for some reason, went quickly downhill after that.

But now, hearing the laughter that greeted him as he walked in the door, his mood had improved. He had no idea why. He could hear Ino's voice clear as day over everything, meaning he'd probably have a headache by the time everyone left. And yet despite the near promise of a throbbing head, Sasuke found himself in the kitchen to see who exactly was in his house this time.

Ino definitely. He heard her before he saw her perched on the table. Tenten was sprawled in a dining chair, hand on her stomach, laughing at something Ino had said. Sakura was standing by the stove, slowly stirring what smelled like chocolate. Hinata was standing as well, but she was quiet and licking chocolate off her fingers. Sasuke thought she looked a little smug but quickly dismissed the thought. Hinata had never been smug in her life.

"Hey Sasuke," Sakura greeted, smiling widely at him. She must have taken Naruto's advice and napped. She looked much better.

Ino, occupied with a strawberry, waved without looking up. Hinata inclined her head and Tenten just grinned at him.

"I'm going to steal Sakura from you," the brunette announced.

Sasuke paused briefly to stare at his friend's pregnant wife. "Really."

"Yes. Her cooking is amazing and if I wasn't a married woman I'd totally go lesbian for her."

Ino snorted a laugh and shook her head. "I don't really think Neji would mind," she teased.

Hinata seemed to shudder. Sakura patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Eat more chocolate and ignore them and their odd fantasies about your cousin."

"Phone's ringing," Ino told the room at large.

Sakura groaned and, figuring it was her mother, Sasuke let her answer it. Ino snagged the cordless and tossed to Sakura's waiting hands.

"Hi Mom," she almost chirped into the phone.

Sasuke noticed the room was quiet and wondered how much of it was respect and how much was everyone wanting to hear what Sakura was saying. Then he realized he was quiet too and told himself it was respect. He told himself that the Hokage does not listen to private phone calls. Then he told himself the call couldn't be private if Sakura was staying in the kitchen where everyone could hear what she was saying.

Then Sasuke realized he was over analyzing and stopped thinking altogether.

"Thanks," Sakura laughed into the phone. "No, not any different really." She smiled and shook her head fondly. "I'm a little old for parties, but I do have some friends over... Okay I will. Bye Mom."

"Throwing a party?" Ino asked as soon as the call was disconnected. She sounded excited at the idea.

Sakura laughed. "You and my mother wish."

Hinata was staring at Sakura thoughtfully and Sasuke knew she was close to figuring it out. He wondered if Sakura had mentioned anything to anyone, but as Hinata's eyes widened, he knew Sakura had kept quiet.

"It's your birthday," Hinata said quietly.

Sakura nodded, peering into the pot of chocolate. "It is," she confirmed.

"What?" Ino shrieked. Tenten winced at the volume but turned wide eyes to Sakura as well. "It's your birthday? Today?"

Sakura blinked. "Yeah," she said slowly. "It's not a big deal..."

Ino's mouth dropped. "Not a big deal?" she repeated. "I thought you had some knowledge behind that big forehead of yours!"

"Hey!"

"It's your birthday. You have to celebrate!"

Sakura turned off the burner to let the chocolate cool. "It's not a big deal, really. Besides it's not a milestone birthday or anything. I'm twenty-five."

"Doesn't matter," Ino declared. She hopped off the table and marched to Sakura, grabbing her arm and yanking her along. "It's your birthday and we're going out to celebrate." She turned to jab a finger at Sasuke. "You're taking us all out somewhere nice."

Sasuke raised a brow. "Am I now."

Ino narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes. And you," she jerked on Sakura's arm, "are coming to my place and borrowing a sexy outfit to celebrate your birthday in."

Sakura threw a glance at Hinata and Tenten, both of whom were grinning and not offering her any help at all. "You both suck," Sakura informed them before she was dragged away.

Tenten laughed. "So," she said struggling out of the chair as gracefully as her bulging belly would allow, "where are we going for dinner?"


	11. Of Dinner and Smiles

Sasuke was fairly certain Sakura had been kidnapped, but considering she had been kidnapped by Ino, he wasn't worried about it. Ino had been headstrong since he'd met her thirteen years ago, and probably before then too. He was Hokage and he tended to bring Ino along to debates simply because she could get everyone to shut up so someone could talk. Ino wasn't particularly big or strong but when she decided something was to be done, you'd better do it.

Thus, it was Sakura's birthday and he had his marching orders. Sasuke rolled his eyes and sighed exasperatedly but he helped Tenten get up when she sat down again, made sure Hinata was with her when they left, and set about digging in his closet for something nice yet casual to wear to Sakura's impromptu birthday dinner.

He knew Hinata would drop Tenten off, change, and then make a beeline for Naruto's to pick out something more appropriate than what he'd thrown on. Knowing that the bright orange sweat suit wouldn't be allowed, Sasuke let the corner of his mind always focused on getting Naruto to act properly relax.

Sasuke shrugged into the suit jacket, glancing at the ensemble in the mirror to make sure his fashion sense hadn't slipped that much since the Christmas ball. It had been months since he'd had to dress up. He wondered why he cared what Sakura would dress like before the Hokage part of his mind took over to remind him that they were getting married next January and dressing alike, while kind of creepy, could satisfy his council for a while.

Though it would make Karin have fits. The thought made him smirk.

Sasuke glanced himself over, his dark suit jacket and grey shirt paired with dark pants was dressy enough without overdoing it but was good enough for where they were going. Not that anyone was going to turn down the Hokage no matter what he was wearing.

Sasuke abruptly realized he should probably warn the restaurant a large table was coming their way in about an hour. He did a swift calculation of people as he reached for the phone. Sakura, obviously, and himself, Naruto, Hinata, Tenten, Neji because Tenten was going and since Sakura's warning about early delivery he'd been glued to her side whenever possible, Ino, and she'd probably drag Shikamaru along.

"Of course Hokage-sama," the overly polite voice droned in his ear. "And what is the occasion?"

"A birthday," Sasuke replied flatly, digging through his desk for Shikamaru's number, wondering why he could never remember it.

"And whose birthday might it be?"

"Haruno Sakura's."

There was a slight pause as the Maitre D ran through his list of names and wondered how he knew the name but no face sprang to his mind. Sasuke could practically see the puzzled look, blank smile in place as customers passed.

"Oh! Your betrothed correct?"

Sasuke found his address book buried under some pens, dropping it triumphantly on the desk and flipping through it. "Yes. She'll be the pretty pink haired woman. We'll be there in an hour."

"We'll have our finest table ready," the Maitre D assured, eager to please. "We look forward to seeing you!"

Sasuke disconnected the call without a goodbye, fingers already poised to dial Shikamaru's number, his other hand just below the correct numbers to make sure he called Shikamaru and not someone else. He vaguely recalled the time he'd meant to call Naruto and accidentally managed to call Tenten, whose number was one digit different. She'd laughed about it for days.

"'Lo?"

"Shikamaru-"

"You. What have you done."

Sasuke smirked. "I did nothing. Your fiancee kidnapped my betrothed. If anyone did anything, Ino is to blame."

There was a snort on the other end of the line. "I don't believe you. Ino is having fits that it's Sakura's birthday and no one said anything. And don't tell me you didn't know- I know you have a file."

It was true, so Sasuke didn't deny it. He opened the top left drawer, pulling out a slim box that was sitting on top of Sakura's file. "I called the restaurant to warn them."

"If it's someplace fancy-" Shikamaru started, a warning in his tone.

" Soufflé Blue," Sasuke informed him.

"... I hate you."

Sasuke scoffed, pocketing the box as he stood. Shikamaru liked Sakura. He'd actually met her once before in Sound. Sakura had been healing and barking orders at the same time and knew exactly what she was doing. They didn't actually meet, but they fought together against Akatsuki. That wasn't something you could forget.

"Ino is claiming they're almost ready," Shikamaru sighed. "You have no less than thirty minutes before they're done."

Sasuke smirked at the dial tone, clicking the phone off before dialing Naruto's number from memory, double checking to make sure he hadn't dialed Tenten's old number again. Someone else had moved into her old place and they probably didn't need a call from the Hokage around dinner time.

"You bastard," Naruto growled as greeting. "You didn't tell me it was her birthday!" Something rustled and Naruto's voice got far away. Sasuke assumed he was changing. "-have warned me!" The sound of footsteps. "How's this Hinata?" Near silence, Hinata's voice too soft for Sasuke to hear. "Great. Now what should I get her? I don't have a gift bastard!"

Naruto hung up before Sasuke could even speak. Sasuke chuckled and dialed one more number. Tenten had probably warned him and made him dress up as well, but Sasuke needed to let Neji know where they were going at least. Naruto hadn't given him the chance to say, but Hinata would call to find out.

"Hello?"

Tenten sounded happy. Sasuke assumed she had won the what-to-wear argument.

"We're meeting at Soufflé Blue," he told her.

"You're my favorite Hokage," she assured him.

"Glad you approve."

"I was craving some lobster. Now I've got to change. Bye!"

The phone rang before he could put it back on the charger. Glancing at the caller id he had to wonder if it was Hinata or Naruto calling because Hinata had pointed out they had no idea where they were going.

"Where're we eating anyways?"

Sasuke told him, ignoring the signature whine about Ichiraku not being the choice, smirking when the phone was taken away and Hinata's quiet voice replaced Naruto's overly loud one. She calmly asked about gifts and revealed her plan, asking if she could legally get into his office to get it. Sasuke doubted anyone would deny the Hyuuga heiress access, but he agreed to meet her there just in case.

"Tell me the idiot's not wearing orange."

"Blue button down and jeans," Hinata said, the last word directed away from the phone, Sasuke assumed to Naruto. He heard the groan and footsteps as Naruto walked away, hopefully to put on correct pants.

"He owns jeans?" Sasuke had assumed Naruto owned sweatpants and sweatpants only.

"Apparently," Hinata said with a smile in her voice. "What did you get Sakura?"

Sasuke wondered if his gift would be alright or if it was too much, maybe even not enough considering, but quickly decided he didn't have time to get her anything else even if Ino took an hour getting ready.

"Meet me at my office in ten minutes," he ordered, hanging up when Naruto got the phone again.

But he heard Hinata's farewell. "Whatever it is, she'll love it," she'd promised.

And Sasuke, strangely, found himself hoping it was true.

* * *

><p>After dinner, drinks, a round of speeches, and gifts from everyone, they all parted ways to head home. Sakura tried to juggle all the bags and boxes she had while walking in the wedges Ino had shoved on her feet, nearly tripping before Sasuke took the box from her, leaving her with two small bags.<p>

"Interesting that Hinata is walking with Naruto even though she lives down the street from Neji," Sakura mentioned casually, watching the blonde over her shoulder.

"They'll take the long way and make it to the Hyuuga compound eventually," Sasuke told her, smirking slightly. The idiot had no idea how far gone he was. Or Hinata for that matter. Everyone else seemed to know, but they both remained clueless and wary.

"Thanks for dinner by the way," Sakura chirped. "I like cooking but it's nice to be treated."

Sasuke just nodded, switching the box with the robe Tenten had given Sakura to his other arm. Apparently Sakura had shared the story of the cocoa and Tenten had gotten her a robe, but kept forgetting to give it to her. Both Tenten and Sakura had laughed at how perfect it was that she forgot, otherwise Tenten would have had nothing to give her. Neji had reminded her about the robe just as Tenten had started to panic, so the gift was from him as well.

Ino, still impressed by Sakura's spar with Kakashi, had dug around her (newly built) store and found a pair of overly padded gloves her customers had claimed were too bulky for gardening. Sakura declared them perfect for her earth shattering technique, surprised that they had fit her small hands. Ino claimed it had been Shikamaru's idea, so the gift was from him by default.

Hinata and Naruto had both had the same idea and used Sasuke to get Sakura a Konoha headband. Sakura had smiled wide and immediately fastened the new metal to her head. Everyone had assured her it looked totally natural, and Sasuke had to admit it did. Naruto had loudly insisted that it had been Hinata's idea, but Hinata reminded him that Naruto had mentioned it first nearly two weeks ago at the sparring match.

Sakura grinned up at him and he found himself wanting to smile back. "Ino also gave me this dress," she said, rolling her eyes. "She claims it makes me look hot."

Ino had had a stroke of genius when she put Sakura in the white thing she was wearing. It stopped a few inches above her knees, left one shoulder bare, and clung to curves. The wedges on Sakura's feet weren't practical, but they made her closer to Sasuke's height and did wonderful things to her legs.

Not that Sasuke was going to mention that.

"Looks nice," he said instead, pushing the door open.

Sakura kicked the wedges off, pausing at the kitchen, sniffing the air curiously. "Did I leave the burner on? I smell chocolate."

"No, that was me." Sasuke led her to the table and, like he had at dinner, pulled the chair out for her. "There's a cake for you."

Sakura broke into another contagious grin. "You made me a cake?" She sounded absurdly pleased by that.

"You can't have a birthday without cake," Sasuke muttered, bending to take the already decorated chocolate creation out of the oven. He grabbed two small plates and two forks and set it out before Sakura. She kept smiling, now looking more amazed than anything.

"I thought you couldn't cook," Sakura accused, taking a large bite, moaning as her taste buds danced.

"Only sweets," Sasuke admitted, taking a small bite. "After six months straight of nothing but sugar, I got sick of them." As if he just remembered, Sasuke dug the box out of his pocket and placed it on the table. "That's yours too," he said, trying to sound casual.

Sakura looked confused, but smiled at him. "I'm getting spoiled this year," she laughed, opening the long slim box carefully.

Her smile slipped so that her mouth could hang open. Her green eyes went very wide and Sasuke knew he'd done good, absurdly pleased that Sakura was so stunned and happy. The necklace was a silver chain and had a small diamond pendant with silver twisting around the diamond like the branches of a tree that reached for the sun.

It hadn't been very expensive and the salesperson had tried to tell him it was nothing special, but he had seen it on Sakura before he even bought it and knew it would look wonderful on her. His only concern had been if she would like it, but her expression told him she loved it.

"Sasuke," she breathed, "this is beautiful." She put it on the table and gathered her hair to put it on.

Sasuke picked up the necklace and leaned forward. "Come here."

The silver sat beautifully against her skin, the diamond sparkling away just under her collar bones. It took Sasuke two tries to close the impossibly small clasp behind her neck but eventually it latched properly and he had to lean back.

Sakura touched the diamond in awe and smiled at him for the hundredth time that night. "Thank you," she whispered. "It's beautiful."

And Sasuke found himself smiling back, reaching out to adjust the pendant so it was even. "You're welcome."

This time when his cheek burned, it wasn't from flames or injury, it was from the feeling of soft lips touching his skin for the smallest of seconds before they once again broke into a smile.


	12. Of Blackouts and Cookie Dough

**Warning:** This is will the last chapter for a while. Not only has life gotten in the way, my Naruto plot bunnies were eaten by Leverage plot bunnies. I'll update when I can, but I'm a little afraid this story has died.

* * *

><p>April came and almost went, but not before heavy rains came with winds howling at all hours, blackouts as trees fell on power lines and the streets flooded. Sasuke remembered Sakura cursing savagely as the power died just as she was making cookies, leaving the ones in the oven halfway between done and gooey and the rest just raw cookie dough. Sasuke had been in the kitchen when the darkness had descended and had narrowly avoided the kitchen table that Sakura had decided to move to the middle of the floor earlier so she could sweep.<p>

Sakura had laughed at him and lit a candle, teasing him about his clumsiness and was he sure he was Hokage? And suddenly the cookie dough was in his hand and then flying through the air to land in Sakura's hair. At first Sasuke expected to be killed on the spot, but then Sakura broke into a grin and he dove behind the table to avoid having cookie dough in his own hair. He grabbed the bowl full of uncooked dough for ammo and stood from his crouch long enough to aim and let loose.

He wasn't quick enough however and caught chocolate chips right in the face. Sakura was laughing like crazy and shrieking, skidding around the table to avoid him, the floors slick with dough, chocolate chips crunching under her toes. She grabbed the pan she had laid out to put in the oven next, grabbing up what few globs were on the wax paper and tossing them. Sasuke caught one in the shoulder and another on his chest before he finally got enough footing to dodge, barely avoiding the counter as he took the corner.

Sakura laughed out a scream when his arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back, his free hand rubbing cookie dough in her hair and face. And Sasuke, amazingly, found himself laughing just as much as the woman in his arms.

At least until they both slipped and went crashing to the floor to land in the most undignified heap either of them had ever landed in. Breathless, they both lay there for a minute, staring at the ceiling and picking raw dough from their hair and clothes. Sasuke felt a streak of the goo drying on his chin. Sakura had a glob on her cheek that he found himself wiping away before he could stop himself.

And Sakura just laughed, pelting him with what she'd gotten from her shirt.

The lights flickered back on to reveal the kitchen a wreck, dough everywhere, the table flipped on its side, one chair leaning precariously against the fridge, and two people in the middle of it all, laying on the floor, covered in uncooked cookies, and smiling wide at the other. Breathless laughter bounced off the walls and suddenly, briefly, everything was okay with the world.

"That's one way to trash the kitchen," Sakura remarked, running her fingers through her now almost clean and slightly damp hair. She and Sasuke had taken turns running their heads under the faucet.

Sasuke grunted, scrubbing a stubborn spot of dough off the wall. His own damp hair clung to his forehead but he didn't brush it away. He was up to his elbows in suds anyways, it wouldn't do him any good to add bubbles to any remaining dough. Sakura reached into the bucket beside him to pull out the other scrub brush to start on the counters.

"As much fun as that was," she commented, "this clean up is going to be hell."

"We probably shouldn't do that again," Sasuke agreed.

"You started it."

"You retaliated."

"I always finish my fights," Sakura said, turning to jab a finger at him. "And I always win."

Sasuke smirked. "I won," he informed her.

She narrowed her eyes. "Want to wear that bucket?" she threatened.

"Threats will not change the fact that I won," Sasuke informed her with a chuckle. He stood, moving to start scrubbing the corner, curling his lip slightly at the sight of the amount of dough that waited for him.

"You so did not win!" Sakura argued, dumping the baking sheet into the sink. She waved her brush at him, suds sliding to her elbow. "I totally kicked your butt."

"If you say so," Sasuke rolled his eyes to the wall.

"Don't you roll your eyes mister."

Sasuke wondered if there had been any truth to Neji's warning of the eyes in the back of women's heads. He smirked, shoulders shaking with a suppressed chuckle. Sakura growled at him and threw her brush, laughing when it smacked him in the back of his head. Her smile slipped when Sasuke seized the brush and stood, eyeing first it then her.

"Sasuke..." she said, a warning in her voice. She started backing away. "No, no... You won... put the brush down..."

He did put the brush down, but just long enough to grab his bucket and dump the contents, bubbles and all, over Sakura's head. Her shriek rivaled anything Ino had ever let loose. She sputtered but didn't pause and grabbed the hose attached to the sink and promptly sprayed him. Sasuke told himself he didn't yelp but he couldn't deny the jump he gave when the icy water hit his face.

Sasuke dropped the bucket and ran into the spray to grab Sakura and try to wrestle the nozzle away from her. She twisted and wriggled in his grip, spraying him again when he was close to getting the nozzle out of her hands. He managed to turn the head to face her and sprayed her back. She gasped and nearly let go, turning the spray around so it hit the window and Sasuke both.

She was also laughing so hard she could barely breathe but eventually she realized she was going to lose again and simple tackled Sasuke and pinned him to the floor, nozzle stretched to its limit as she pointed it threateningly. Sasuke raised his hands in surrender.

"Tell me I win," she ordered. "Or I spray you till you become a puddle."

"You win," Sasuke said quickly.

"Tell me I'm awesome."

Sasuke lowered his hands to glare defiantly at her. "No."

Sakura squeezed the handle enough to let water drip from the nozzle. "Say it."

"You're awesome," Sasuke muttered, holding back more laughter. He couldn't stop his smile, instead letting it settle on his lips and spread. Realizing the effect of his glare would be next to nothing if he was smiling, he threw his arm across his eyes. Sakura could still spray him if she wanted, and she probably would knowing her. Sasuke felt a short burst of water sprinkle across his arm and then Sakura's weight was gone. He risked a peek.

Sakura fed the hose back into the sink and offered him her hand. Sasuke took it and pulled himself up, deliberately stepping into her space to pull a chunk of cookie dough from her hair. Sakura's smile changed from a broad grin to something else, something small and almost shy and suddenly his fingers wouldn't leave her hair, traveling instead to tuck the strands behind her ear, his thumb gently gliding over her lobe.

Sasuke had no idea what he was doing. All he knew was he had Sakura's hand in his, his fingers in his hair, and he was struck for the first time with the burning desire to kiss the woman before him. Sakura's eyes were on his, questioning and still shy, but a darker shade of green than they had been minutes ago.

Sasuke took a single step back, taking his hand from her face, some strands of her hair clinging to his fingers as he moved, but only loosening his grip on her hand and never taking his eyes from hers. He wondered if she could feel his pulse racing and wondered if hers was racing as well. Wondering faintly why it should matter to him, Sasuke, slowly, finally, dropped her hand.

"I..." she started, blinking and looking away. "I should get in the shower."

For the first time in a very long time Sasuke didn't trust his voice and simply nodded. Sakura spun on her heel and quickly retreated, leaving Sasuke staring silently at the spot she had been, flexing his fingers and wondering what had just happened. And wondering why he wished it would happen again.

* * *

><p>Sasuke threw himself into investigating Root over the next few days, ignoring Naruto's mutters about nothing being a race and Neji's unsettling, and very knowing, look. He refused to acknowledge either, burying his head in the Jonin exams, tips Shikamaru had gathered about Root, and comparing Roots reports to his own, looking for anything that he could use.<p>

"They've been laying low since the attack," Naruto commented, flipping a page of the file in his hands.

"It won't last," Neji said. "They'll try something soon."

"And whatever they try won't be pretty. An outright assassination didn't work, now they'll try something over the top." Sakura popped up in his mind, covered in cookie dough and laughing and Sasuke growled at the thought of Root hurting her again. "I'm not going to allow it," he said quietly, eyes nearly burning holes through the paper on his desk.

Naruto and Neji exchanged glances. "We know it's Root," Neji started, "but we don't have anything more than these files to go on. We need something concrete before we can start taking them down. We have to convince the rest of the Council."

Naruto tossed his file onto Sasuke's desk. "Too bad they don't fall for the whole 'don't question the Hokage' bit. We could just tell them we're taking down Root and that would be that."

"Yes but someone would start asking questions if we did that. Neji's right, we can't just take down the whole organization because of one attack." Sasuke sighed, rubbing his forehead. "If we could have proved they were all behind the assassination attempt it would be different, but since we couldn't, we can't do anything."

"And the attackers were the only ones who could do the forbidden jutsus, I know, I know." Naruto sulked in his chair. "We need a way to tell if they're lying without actually hooking them up to a lie detector."

"What we need," Neji interjected, neatly closing his file, "is an informant."

Naruto perked up. "Think we can convince one of them to turn?" he asked, wheels churning in his head. If someone from the inside would be willing to give them what they need, not only could they finally bring Root down for good, they'd have a way to do it with solid evidence that even the civilians would buy.

Sasuke absently rubbed his cheek, considering. "The question becomes who on this list would be willing to even talk to someone not in Root?" He eyed the list for the hundredth time that day. "They all stick together, train together, do everything together. It's a miracle if you can find one of them alone, let alone talk to someone." Not to mention if their informant was caught there was no doubt they would be killed and anything they had gained would be then useless.

Neji nodded, eyes thoughtful. "Perhaps one of them is breaking the rules already and talking to someone they shouldn't."

"Like a girlfriend or something?" Naruto asked.

"Root members are trained to remove any and all emotions," Sasuke pointed out. His fist went under his chin as he considered the two men before him, thoughts suddenly on Sakura again. "But I wouldn't put it past someone to make it past those defenses."

Neji gave a private smile. "It's certainly been done before."

Naruto grinned. "With the women in this village, who hasn't broken the rules at one point?"

Neji abruptly turned to glare at the blonde, who suddenly found the wall fascinating and didn't meet the Hyuuga's gaze. Sasuke expected another accusation about Naruto's feelings for Hinata, which he suspected Neji secretly supported, but eventually Neji turned back to the files, reading silently. Sasuke hid behind the May Day festival plans and snickered.

* * *

><p><strong>Warning:<strong> This is will the last chapter for a while. Not only has life gotten in the way, my Naruto plot bunnies were eaten by Leverage plot bunnies. I'll update when I can, but I'm a little afraid this story has died.


	13. Of New Life and Old Bonds

**A/N:** Yay I wrote a chapter out! Don't expect another one anytime soon, but at least you get this, right? *runs*

* * *

><p>"Breathe, honey."<p>

Tenten gasped and crushed Neji's hand in hers, falling back on the mountain of pillows at her back as the contraction passed. A few tears had leaked from under her lids. She kept screaming, and when she wasn't screaming she was yelling at Neji how all of this was his fault and she was going to kill him as soon as she was done dying. Neji kept kissing her and telling her to breathe.

Sasuke didn't understand any of it. This was supposed to be a blessed event?

"Another one..." Tenten gasped.

Neji helped her sit up. Sasuke awkwardly held her shoulders since one of Neji's hands was being ground into dust.

"Push Tenten!" Sakura called.

She did, screaming a little at the end, going limp when Sakura told her to rest. Neji brushed her bangs from her sweaty forehead and pressed a kiss to her flushed skin.

"You're doing great," he whispered. "Just keep breathing."

"Tell... you what... how about _you_ give birth... and I tell you what to do," she snapped. She gasped and shot forward, grabbing a fistful of Sasuke's shirt as she did.

Sasuke knew better than to mention it.

Sakura seemed perfectly calm throughout this. Sasuke envied her. Well, he envied her training. She'd delivered several babies before- according to her- and this was nothing new. She'd calmly taken control of the situation before the rest of the Hyuugas, who had been running around in a semi-panic because the birthing room hadn't been ready, could even blink. She'd ordered the room set up, sent someone for Neji, and gotten Tenten settled before the next contraction had hit.

Neji arrived in a puff of panic, Sasuke right behind him with a calmer air about him. He'd known as soon as Neji had shot to his feet what was happening and followed him. He'd need support and someone to keep him calm if he started to panic. Naruto had the presence of mind to keep talking like nothing was going on, so none of the Council had thrown fits when two key members had vanished.

They'd walked into Tenten crying and screaming, Hyuugas flying around, and Sakura in the middle of it all, calmly giving orders like it was just another day. Sasuke had paused but Neji had charged in, halting only when Sakura barked that he'd _better_ have scrubbed up before he even thought about setting foot in the room.

Neither of them had ever washed so fast in their lives.

"Where the hell have you been?" Tenten tearfully demanded.

"I came as fast as I could," Neji assured.

"Now, Tenten," Sakura said. "Push."

And three hours later, they were still there. Tenten pushing, growing weary. Neji pretending his hand wasn't hurting, reminding her to breathe. Sakura giving instructions, voice never wavering from the calm tone that spoke of experience and knowledge. Sasuke supporting Tenten when she sat up, ignoring the holes she was tearing in his shirt, just glad it wasn't _his_ hand she was breaking.

Neji looked happy though, that Sasuke couldn't deny. And between the tears and death threats, Tenten did too. Sasuke had no doubt that they would be wonderful parents. Their child would never want for anything. He would always know he was loved.

"Crowning," Sakura announced. "I see the head. Come on Tenten, one big push, as hard as you can."

Neji planted a loud kiss on her forehead. Sasuke sat her up one last time. And Tenten pushed. She pushed, she gasped, she screamed. Sasuke's shirt ripped right down the chest. Neji swore a bone snapped in his hand. But Tenten kept pushing, latching on to Sakura's calm voice, obeying the order, her body doing what it was meant to.

And suddenly, in the middle of it all, there was a cry. The cry grew louder until it was a full pitched wail and Sakura was holding up a squirming baby boy, covered in fluid, red and purple and blue, hair matted to his forehead, face scrunched up as he let the world know his displeasure, little fists balled and flailing about, his wail almost a scream.

"He's here," Sakura said quietly.

"Neji... he's... is he..."

"He's beautiful," Neji whispered.

Sasuke helped Tenten sink onto her back, knocking most of the pillows off so she could recline more. She didn't let go of Neji's hand, but she did release her Hokage's shirt. He hastily stepped back to allow the new parents the moment. Sakura wrapped the baby, still crying, in a warm blanket and made her way to the awed couple.

"Your son," she said, placing him in Tenten's arms.

Tenten smiled and cried and laughed and held her son and looked at her husband who couldn't even breathe because his son was here, he was here and beautiful and it was his_ son_. He had a son.

"Hold him," Tenten sniffed.

Neji awkwardly held out his arms, cradling the infant carefully, like he was afraid he'd break. He tore his eyes from his son's face long enough to look at Sasuke. Sasuke's smirk was soft around the edges as he stood by his friend's side. The little boy was quiet now. He'd fallen silent as soon as Neji had him in his arms.

"My son," Neji said, a little dazed.

"He looks like his dad," Sakura offered from the other side of the room, washing her hands.

"Don't tell Neji," Tenten quipped tiredly.

Neji barked out a little laugh. Everyone pretended not to notice the tear that slipped down his cheek. He turned to Sakura, still awed.

"Thank you."

She just smiled and gave a little nod, slipping out into the hallway, Sasuke on her heels. They were greeted by the sight of people, wall to wall people. Hyuugas mostly, Hinata at the front. Naruto stood beside her. Ino and Shikamaru were there, hands linked. Ino looked anxious. Shikamaru didn't, but there was a small line on his brow. Sasuke saw Neji's uncle, Hiashi, make his way to stand beside his daughter.

He abruptly realized all these people, every last one of them, weren't looking to him for the confirmation. Every eye in the room was turned to Sakura. She didn't even flinch. She barely blinked.

"They're fine," she said, her voice carrying in the sudden hush. "All three of them."

Ino broke into a large grin, the line on Shikamaru's brow vanishing. The crowd cheered. There was hugging (mainly Ino and Naruto doing that because Hyuugas didn't hug), there were tears (Hinata), and there was laughter (Sakura). Sasuke told himself he was smirking, but it felt like a smile. He draped an arm around Sakura's shoulders and pulled her to the side so Neji, who'd emerged with his son in tow, could get past her.

"Meet Hyuuga Hizashi," he announced.

Hinata rushed forward to meet her new cousin, cooing in delight when he turned toward to sudden movement and gurgled at her. Neji's grin rivaled Naruto's as he carefully handed his son over to her. Hinata took him easily, her natural grace coming through. Naruto peered over her shoulder and grinned.

"Good thing he looks like Tenten," he joked. He patted Neji on the shoulder. "You did good, man."

Neji glanced in at Tenten, resting but awake, and smiled at her. "Yeah," she said quietly. "I really did."

Hizashi wiggled in Hinata's arms, trying to get closer to her warmth. "Someone loves his godmother," Neji commented casually.

Hinata blinked, her head whipping around. "Godmother?"

Sasuke nearly rolled his eyes. Really, who else was Neji going to appoint? Hinata was going to spoil the kid rotten anyways so it made sense. Plus Neji trusted her more than any other family member they had. And considering how large the Hyuuga clan was, that was really saying something. Hinata looked genuinely surprised though, so he said nothing.

"Don't roll your eyes," Sakura hissed. "They'll get stuck."

"If they haven't after all these years of being around Naruto, they never will," he whispered back with a smirk. She shook her head at him and turned her attention back to the scene before her.

Naruto had the baby now. Hinata's hand hovered by his elbow, but he seemed to be in control of everything. Hiashi seemed to be studying the blonde and he squirmed a little bit, then leaned in to whisper-yell to the newest addition to the world that his great uncle was "scary" before handing him to Sakura.

Sakura cuddled him and kissed his forehead and announced that he'd have the Hyuuga eyes. There was another round of cheering and Sasuke swore Neji had to wipe away more tears. Hiashi looked a little misty eyed himself, but it was hard to tell. Sasuke'd always thought he only had one facial setting- disapproval.

Then suddenly his arm was sliding from Sakura's shoulders to hold a baby.

"Mind his head," Sakura said softly, her fingers brushing his arm.

He adjusted his hold accordingly. Hizashi stared at the Hokage with a soul-piercing look, like he knew every sin Sasuke had ever committed. It was a little intimidating. And then the baby started to howl. Sasuke threw a panicked look to Sakura, who actually laughed at him before handing the baby back to his father. Neji bounced his son gently making shushing noises.

"I'm going to stay for a bit and check on Tenten," Sakura told him. "You should probably change shirts before you head back to your duties."

Sasuke abruptly realized he had nothing covering his chest and immediately teleported himself home. He smiled at the empty air as the sound of Sakura's laughter echoed in his ears

* * *

><p>It had made sense so Sasuke had agreed to it, but now he was having second thoughts. He trusted Naruto with many things. His life for starters. They'd been teammates for years and best friends since they were young. They'd been on the battlefield together many a time and each time they'd had each other's backs. Sasuke couldn't begin to count the number of times Naruto had saved him. The truth of the matter was quite simple- If Naruto hadn't been there even once, Sasuke wouldn't have lived to see they day he'd be Hokage.<p>

But sending Naruto to Sound for a Council Calling was something else entirely.

"It's only a week," Naruto pointed out. "Besides, I'm not going to say much. Hinata will do most of the talking. All I have to do is show up and look pretty."

"Good luck on that last part."

Naruto glared at him briefly but turned back to packing. Sasuke was relieved to note that his suitcase was not stuffed to the brim with ramen, but actually held clothes and other practical items. There was probably an unhealthy amount of ramen hidden somewhere in the depths of the pack, but he'd leave it for Hinata to find when she double-checked his things.

"Look, I'm not Hokage-"

"Yet," Sasuke cut in. "You will be when you're ready."

Naruto waved it away, trying to get his suitcase to zip. "Yeah, yeah. But I'm not yet. So I have other things to do. This will be a good lesson in politics, right? And I don't even have to do much, just sit back and watch." With a great amount of effort on Naruto's part, the zipper slid closed. "Hinata's gone before. She's got a ton of experience. I'll leave it to her."

Sasuke knew it was true, but he'd really been counting on Neji to go to Sound. Every year there was a meeting of all the countries' council members. Not every member, but one or two to discuss how everything was going and get a general feel for the other countries, offering assistance where it was needed or asking for help. Sasuke had started the tradition in his first year as Hokage. It had gone very well and had been repeated every year for the past five.

Normally Neji went, and Hinata had gone twice before. However, both times had been with Neji, and both times he'd been in charge. Shikamaru had to be buttered up weeks in advance and was heading out on a mission later anyways, so he was out. Sasuke couldn't go himself, but Hinata had volunteered, and considering Neji had just become a father, Sasuke wasn't about to send him. Naruto had quickly asked to go as well. Sasuke had been thinking about sending him next year, but someone was needed now and they were both willing.

He'd actually considered asking Sakura for a minute. It would give her a chance to visit with her old friends, not to mention she'd be able to communicate with Sound the best. But the idea had been dismissed when he'd mentioned it.

"It's a loyalty thing," she'd said. "Sound council knows me and the situation, but if word got out I went for Konoha..." She trailed off, but he got the meaning. "Send Naruto," she suggested. "It would be good for him."

"But most likely not for me," he'd muttered.

Disappointed, but knowing the truth of her words, Sasuke went through the list one more time before settling on the one thing he could do.

He was sending Naruto.

God help them. Actually, god help _him_ for having to send Naruto in the first place. His council was going to kill him. Maybe he could say it had been Sakura's idea. It sort of had been anyways.

"How much ramen should I bring?"

Sasuke's hand met his forehead.


	14. Of Silence and Surprises

**A/N:** I feel like I should explain about the long break I had and the next one I might have. I have a job, I was moving, I don't have a car, I'm trying to get as many extra hours as possible in order to get my own car, there was a ton of family drama involving my brother skipping school and other things right as I got into Leverage, so my plots bunnies ran away screaming after a while and I just now managed to chase them down. But I'm _NOT_ going to give up on this story- it just might be a while before I finish it, so hang in there folks. It will be a bumpy ride.

* * *

><p>Sasuke felt the first inkling of trouble when he came home early to a quiet house. He stood in the doorway for almost a minute, trying to decide if it could be a trap of some kind. Then he remembered that Sakura had dragged Ino off to do some shopping. Apparently she'd been moping because Shikamaru had been gone for so long. He'd only been gone a week really, but Ino moaned about it feeling longer, making being around her nearly unbearable. Sasuke had retreated to the Hokage Office to do paperwork, leaving Sakura to entertain her friend.<p>

He might have known Ino the longest, but he had the power to send her away. Or vanish. Hokages could do that.

Sasuke made his way into the kitchen, snagging an apple to munch on as he passed the table. Tenten had given them a few gifts for helping with the birth. Actually, the Hyuugas had given Tenten the gifts to give to them, but neither he nor Sakura cared. A few of the things were pretty cool. The bowl the fresh fruit was sitting in was one of Sakura's favorites- glass, meaning Naruto was going to have to dance around it when he got back, and a shimmering shade of green. It reminded him of Sakura's eyes.

He'd gotten a pack of pens (he suspected Neji had been behind that, but they were being put to good use). They'd also been given a joint gift of a painting Hinata's sister had done. Hinabi was actually a very gifted artist according to people who'd seen her paintings before. Sasuke hadn't had any idea that she painted until he'd unwrapped her gift. The painting looked like splotches and streaks of color, but he liked it for some reason. Sakura had promptly hung it in his office where he could look at it.

"Your office needs more color," she'd proclaimed. "And maybe a good dusting. Don't you ever clean in here?" She'd promptly fetched the broom and given his office a once over.

He tossed the apple core in the garbage and settled behind his desk, pulling out the files he'd brought home with him. Most of them could wait, but he'd rather get them done with soon. The Chunin exams were over and done with, but the Jounin exams were in full swing. They weren't due to be finished for another two weeks, so he was up to his eyeballs in paperwork as it was with all the injury reports, but then Mist decided to send him trading route requests that he couldn't even begin to think about until he got his hands on a good map of all the countries. He'd realized his was dated when the request came in; Mist wanted to travel on a route that wasn't even on his map.

Naruto had deemed it the 'Invisible Road'.

Sasuke dug into his rapidly depleting supply of pens to get started, but no sooner had he touched pen to paper did he realize that the house was absolutely silent and it bothered him. He'd lived alone before Sakura had moved in, so he'd often been surrounded by the quiet. Naruto barged in a lot, sure, but there had always been silence. It practically followed him around like a cloud anyways. People often fell silent as he walked past, either in respect or disapproval. Either way, the quiet was there and it had never bothered him before.

But now...

Sasuke found himself wishing for a working radio, one Naruto couldn't destroy in two days. At least the music would give him more to listen to other than ink drying on his papers.

But the sound he wanted to hear most, what he wouldn't admit to missing, was the sound of Sakura's voice floating from some part of the house. Or the general mayhem of her cooking. He'd even take a pot banging because it would mean she was close by. He'd gotten so used to having Sakura around that her being gone was odd.

He told himself it was just because he'd been working while she made noise for the past five months. That the environment had changed and was disrupting his work.

Even as he threw himself into the paperwork, determined to work in spite of the silence, he knew it wasn't the real reason.

It was one file, one hour, and one dead ink pen later that Sakura finally made her way back. Sasuke had to stop himself from meeting her in the hallway. He rooted himself in his chair, forcing his eyes back to the papers in front of him.

Sakura knocked on the open door a few minutes later.

"Hey," she said cheerfully.

Sakura pretended to just notice that she was back. "Has Ino stopped complaining?" he asked, barely glancing up.

Sakura took the glance as permission to enter. She perched on the edge of his desk, glancing over the files as she situated herself. "Nope. In fact, she's convinced you two had some kind of pact going on so that he'd be gone while she went wedding dress shopping."

The smirk gave him away. "The Hokage does not assign missions for the sake of one person," he told her. She just laughed. Sasuke noticed her eyes lingering on the Mist file and handed it to her. "By all means, if you want to do paperwork, do it." He turned his paper to the back and signed his name for the thirty fifth time. "At least it will get done."

Sakura flipped through the file, her eyes scanning the words quickly, managing to process each one rather than just skimming, her mind absorbing the information. She sat the file down and went to the door. "Just a second," she said, her voice raising as she made her way to her room. "I think I brought a map with me."

He wanted to ask why, but found it didn't really surprise him. Sakura was the type of person to be prepared for anything, even the unknown. She had a map because a map was a good thing to have around, especially an up to date one. It wouldn't be unusual to find she had food for a small animal stashed somewhere (she liked to feed strays).

"Found it!" she cried. She was back in the room in seconds. Sasuke blinked, looking away from the door for the first time since she'd gone out it. "The route Mist wants to take cuts through the corner of Sound, but just barely." She pointed to the section she was talking about. "Actually it looks like it goes right past the abandoned Hyuuga compound. No one lives there now."

Sasuke studied the map. "Explains why Sound sent this to me. The Hyuuga compound is technically Konoha territory since the majority of the clan is here."

"Mmmm," Sakura agreed, scanning the file again. "And they're transporting goods bound for here anyways. You probably have a direct request from Mist too, not just this copy from Sound."

Sasuke thought about the overflowing pile of paper on his Hokage desk. "Entirely possible," he muttered.

Sakura caught the tone. "Overworked?" she guessed.

"A little. With Naruto in Sound until the end of the week and Neji at home, the work has been piling up."

"You've been coming home late," Sakura mused. "I was surprised you were here when I got home."

Something stirred in him when Sakura called his- their- house home. It must have showed on his face because Sakura gave him an odd look. He was glad she didn't comment. He wasn't entirely sure what he was feeling and wouldn't have an answer for her if she asked. But he could say, with the utmost certainty, that he liked having Sakura around, and not just because she was a wonderful cook. Before she'd arrived, his house was just a place to live.

But now it was a home.

Sasuke liked that idea very much.

"I could put a call in to Tsunade and tell her to go ahead and sign this," Sakura was saying. Sasuke concentrated on her voice rather than the weird things going on in his head. "That way you don't have to send an official okay and wait a month for her to get it."

"That would be a great help," he admitted.

The folder snapped shut in her hands. "Okay then. What else you got?"

With Sakura going over things and forging his name- not quite as well as Naruto but pretty close- Sasuke found himself with a free evening. He didn't know what to do with himself. He hadn't had a free evening since Neji put in for the time off. Shikamaru and Naruto were both out of the country, and he wasn't about to call Neji in unless he absolutely had to. Hinata was with Naruto, and handling things well according to Naruto (and Sakura, who'd called Tsunade to double check), and Tenten was obviously busy.

He wondered why he hadn't asked Sakura for help before.

"Because you hate admitting you need it," she said when he voiced the question. "You like doing everything yourself because you know that it was actually done, even though you trust everyone you work with. They know that and slip stuff out of the office when you aren't looking so you don't wind up doing everything."

He wondered if he was that readable to everyone or if Sakura just had him pegged.

His wife to be tossed the last file onto the done pile and gave him a wide smile. "What do you want for dinner?"

* * *

><p>The second trickle of disquiet was when Naruto and Hinata arrived home. They were due back early on a Sunday, so Sasuke decided to a bit of business in his home office, the smell of sausage wafting in from the kitchen and making his stomach growl. He'd been up since sunrise finalizing everything for the last leg Jounin exams, forgoing any food in favor of coffee. Now his stomach was complaining about it.<p>

He decided Sakura had some kind of sixth sense because about the time he realized he should probably eat, she came in with two plates piled with eggs, sausage, toast, and bacon. She sat one down in front of him and kept the other, plopping down in what had become her chair, propping her feet on the corner of the desk. Sasuke put his paperwork aside in favor of the food and having a conversation with Sakura. They talked about Genin days and old teammates, which lead to Naruto and the fact that he and Hinata were coming back that day.

"I'm glad they're coming back today. I missed them," Sakura admitted.

"I haven't," Sasuke muttered.

Sakura laughed. "No, what you didn't miss was Naruto making a mess every time he took a step. You missed him and his help, but not the chaos that likes to follow in his wake."

It was entirely true.

"Hn."

Sakura stacked her empty plate on top of his. "What time are they supposed to be back anyways?"

They both heard the door open at the same time. Sakura broke into another smile. Sasuke cringed at the sound of Naruto's voice reeking havoc on his eardrums. But Sakura had been right. He had missed knowing Naruto was around.

The doorway was soon full of people.

"We're back!" Naruto announced. "And Neji followed us here."

Neji looked more tired than usual, but happy overall. His eyes were shadowed by dark circles yet shined with something new. Sasuke had last seen that shine when he and Tenten had first started dating, then again when they got married. Hizashi was already the center of his father's universe.

Naruto disappeared for about two seconds. He returned juggling three chairs, one of which slipped from his grip but landed upright after teetering for a second. He sat the other two down on the other side of Sakura and situated Hinata in one. Sakura promptly leaned over and hugged Hinata tightly, the smile brighter than ever. Despite having a chair for himself, Naruto remained standing, his hands on the back of Hinata's chair.

"So I have something to tell you all," he announced calmly.

Sasuke felt his good mood crash. "What?" he asked, trying to rub away the headache that was already threatening to form.

"Something happened at the Council Calling, didn't it?"

Sakura frowned, turning to study the pair beside her.

"No, that went well," Naruto assured them. He scoffed. "What, did you think I started a war or something?"

Sasuke wouldn't put it past him, but said nothing.

Naruto nervously cleared his throat, glancing at Neji, then down at Hinata. Finally he looked at Sakura, letting his breath out in one big whoosh. "Hinata and I got married."

There was absolute silence. Then everyone spoke at once.

"Oh my god. You didn't."

"You seriously went to another country to get married when you were on official business?"

"We did the Council thing too!"

"Were you drunk?"

"Naruto-kun and I were sober. Neji, you've gone kind of pale."

Neji had a hand covering his eyes and had slumped down in his chair. He made a strangled noise, then cleared his throat and tried again. "Uncle is going to kill you," he muttered.

Hinata didn't look ashamed in the slightest. "He will have to get over it," she said in a strong voice. Her hand reached back for Naruto's. "He'll probably be more mad about-" she caught herself and stopped, but the damage had already been done.

Neji suddenly sat straight, his eyes trained on Hinata with such intensity Sakura scooted her chair back. "About what," he demanded, his voice almost a threat.

But it was Naruto who answered. "Hinata's pregnant." He kept his eyes on Neji, unashamed and almost proud. "Once we were sure, we went over to the Kage tower and had Tsunade marry us."

Sasuke could honestly say he'd never been more shocked in his entire life. He figured Naruto had something going on with Hinata and didn't want to admit it, not that they had a secret relationship that resulted in Hinata being pregnant. Actually, he didn't think that they had a relationship period. Which begged the question; "How long have you two been involved?"

Naruto turned to his best friend. "Almost a year now," he admitted. He rolled his eyes. "You don't have to look _that_ shocked teme!"

"I'm surprised you could keep it quiet that long," Sasuke muttered.

"Yeah, well..."

Hinata squeezed Naruto's hand. "That was my doing. I didn't want Father to find out, and the best way to prevent that was to make sure no one knew."

Neji appeared to be in shock, his eyes as round as the plates stacked on Sasuke's desk. "You're pregnant."

"How far along?" Sakura wanted to know.

"Tsunade-sama says about three months."

Naruto pointed at Sakura. "Yeah, and it's all your fault Sakura-chan!" he loudly proclaimed.

Sasuke exchanged glances with a confused Sakura. "How in the world is that _my_ fault?" she demanded.

"You're the one who told me I should follow my heart no matter what other people thought or said." It sounded like something she'd say. Sasuke almost chuckled, but Neji was starting to look a little murderous, so he kept quiet. "So it's totally your fault Hinata's pregnant!"

"The medical community would just love to hear how I managed that."

Neji slumped completely in his chair, his head towards the ceiling. "Her father really is going to kill you," he declared. "So I'm not going to bother. He'll do all the dirty work. I'll just hide your body somewhere."

Sasuke violently massaged his forehead. "I think we all need a drink." He turned to Neji. "Go home to your son. He'll be the only Hyuuga who won't care." Eyes still on Neji, Sasuke jabbed his finger at the blonde that was currently the source of the problems to come. "You, go do what you need to with Hiashi. Then hide." Finally, he turned to Sakura. "We're going to find something alcoholic to drink and pretend for an hour that none of this happened. It'll be the only peaceful thing we'll get to do for a week."

Sakura, bless her, just laughed, the tension in the room suddenly lifting a bit at her clear amusement. She looked at Sasuke with twinkling eyes. "It's a date."


	15. Of Alcohol and Dates

Sakura and alcohol was a fun conversation, as Sasuke quickly discovered. He wasn't entirely sure if he was using fun in the sarcastic or serious sense, but it was interesting either way. She nursed more drinks than he did and managed to stay stone cold sober while he was well on his way to getting buzzed. And wouldn't that make a lovely picture for the paper in the morning? The Hokage drunk at noon on a Sunday.

They'd probably manage to make it Sakura's fault somehow. They were clever like that. And by clever he meant vicious and he often wanted to strangle them all. Lately the paper had been spewing lies, theories really, about Root and how it was going to overthrow the village. Apparently Sasuke wasn't doing a thing about it, despite his multiple- and a few public- interviews, glares, and threats to Root who dared to so much as breathe too close to him.

He really needed to figure out what to do about them. But Neji had been right when he'd said they needed an informant. Without knowing what Root was doing, they couldn't catch them unless they had the best luck in the world times ten. Root members were trained since birth, so it wasn't like they could just slip someone in to spy.

"I think Naruto will be a good father," Sakura suddenly said. Her voice was low, meant for Sasuke's ears only, and he jolted at her sudden line of thought.

"He will be," Sasuke agreed, knocking back another swig of sake. "I'm not arguing."

Sakura downed a shot before he could blink. "So why the random outing?" she asked.

"Hyuuga Hiashi. You met him when Hizashi was born. He's Hinata's father."

He watched her brow crease as she thought back nearly two weeks, her expression clearing just as the bartender set another shot in front of her. How the hell was she not at least tipsy by now? That was her fifth shot- sixth, he corrected and she knocked that one back too- and she'd shared sake with him when they'd first arrived, slowly consuming the glasses he'd poured.

"He was the one that looked like he had the stick someplace unpleasant wasn't he?"

"Unfortunately. Since his wife died he's been..." the liquor made his brain fuzzy and he couldn't think of the right word.

"Overprotective?" Sakura guessed.

"Multiply that by about fifty and you'd get close." Sasuke poured more sake for himself. "Not to mention he harbors some resent toward Hinata. No one knows why," he added before she could ask.

But Sakura looked like she understood. She did two shots in succession before she spoke again, coughing a little, her throat burning because she'd taken the shots too fast. She smacked an open palm against her chest to dislodge the burn settling on her sternum.

"Hinata probably looks just like her mom, but acts nothing like her." She signaled for another shot. "By looking like the woman he loves, Hiashi expects her to act like her too. He's disappointed because she doesn't and mad at himself because he expects her to. It's probably why he's so gruff with her." She took her shot and tossed it back. "But that doesn't explain why he hates Naruto so much."

Sasuke either wasn't drunk enough or was too tipsy to follow. "It doesn't?"

She shook her head, swiveling on the stool to face him. "At Hizashi's birth, Naruto was there first because he had been walking Hinata home when he heard. I thought Hiashi was going to kill him for just stepping into the compound." She pursed her lips, considering something. "Do you think he knows they're involved?"

"I doubt it. Hiashi is wrapped up in his own Clan Council business more than anything."

No, Hiashi hated Naruto for more than just being in love with Hinata, though Sasuke seriously doubted the Elder Hyuuga had known about that before now. His hatred for the blonde was much deeper and much more stupid than that. At least being suspicious of Naruto because he was interested in Hinata was acceptable, but the reason Hiashi didn't trust or like Naruto, the reason most of the village protested him becoming the next Hokage, was something that Naruto couldn't even control. Sasuke growled just thinking about it.

Sakura set a shot of something amber looking in front of him, touching her glass to his as he raised it.

"Cheers," she said flatly.

In tandem, they drained their glasses, slamming them back down onto the bar and requested more.

They slowed down after that- apparently Sakura had given him Tequila and it made the world swirl briefly- but remained at the bar to reflect on the things they hated about life. Sakura decided they were being too morbid about something that was supposed to be joyous, quickly throwing in that she understood the need for a strong drink, and decided to tell him about her life in Sound. He couldn't help but notice she glossed over anything involving her mother and over detailed her father. Haruno Takumi sounded like a good man. He'd certainly raised a good woman.

Sasuke found himself countering her story of her father buying a mule and letting kids ride on it at the fair for a price and then having it buck him off in the middle of the street on the way home with his story of how his great-uncle had once found an octopus in the lake and carried him home and plopping it on his father's head to wake him up. Sakura laughed until Sasuke found himself chuckling even though he'd already known the punch lines.

They played twenty questions via the dating method. They each had twenty questions they could ask the other person which had to be answered truthfully (Sakura's idea). Sasuke didn't mind, but it made the outing feel more like a date than it already did. But then Sakura was asking him questions and he found himself answering truthfully before he could even consider a lie. He got to ask a question right after she did and he found after living with her for almost half a year, he didn't have much he didn't know about her.

And slowly, the game took a turn for the serious, a way for them both to satisfy the curiosity burning in them, questions they wouldn't have normally asked rolling off their tongues.

"Why don't you talk about your mother?"

"Returning the favor. She only talks about me to complain about how I'm nothing like what she wanted in a daughter, how I do things on purpose just to annoy or worry her." Sakura considered her half empty glass, the ice melting into the tea she'd ordered to combat all the alcohol in her system. "I guess that's how I knew about Hiashi. I look almost exactly like my mother, but I'm my father's daughter. Always wanting more out of life and just stubborn enough to chase after it. She hates that we have that freedom while she stands still."

Sasuke felt something close to sympathy and anger well up in him. Anger at Sakura's mother, symapthy for Sakura, who had to leave her life behind just to get away.

"She didn't even want me to be a ninja," Sakura sighed. "When she found out I could manipulate chakra like Dad she kept me away from my friends who would be going to the Academy so they wouldn't talk about it. She even stopped shopping along the street that lead to the school." She chuckled humorlessly. "Imagine how pissed she was when I told Dad I wanted to sign up and he took me that day."

Sasuke took a drink of his water to avoid saying anything. Sakura didn't want sympathy or pity, and he couldn't say or do anything that wouldn't reek of one or the other. She'd answered his question honestly. It wasn't pretty (and now he understood why Sakura groaned whenever her mother called), but it was the truth. She hadn't sugar coated it. He'd return the favor.

"Who's Itachi?"

And just like that, Sasuke went rigid in his seat. He couldn't even bring himself to look at her. He cursed himself for not explaining sooner. He cursed the villagers for their big mouths and the gossip she probably heard. And he cursed the instant panic that had flared, then died, to be replaced with sudden sadness.

But he told her. And like her, he didn't pretty it up. Sasuke gave her the straight truth through numb lips that only warmed when she covered his hand with hers. He didn't acknowledge the gesture of comfort, but he didn't shrug it off either. Just as Sakura was starting to wonder if she should take her hand back she felt his thumb run, ever so gently, up her finger and rest on the back of her hand.

"At first I wanted to destroy this place, but then I realized it would be better to return and govern it correctly," he finished, gaze trailing to her.

Sasuke had another question before either of them could put too much thought into their joined hands. "What's your biggest fear?" he asked.

"The wedding," she promptly answered. She smiled sheepishly at his expression. "It's got nothing to do with you- well, actually it kinda does."

Sasuke wasn't sure how to take that.

"It's just..." Sakura paused to gather her thoughts, her hand tightening slightly around his. "I chose this, you know? Hell, I volunteered when Tsunade mentioned it and submitted myself as an applicant that day. So everything I've done here, I chose to do- to come here and live and get married and help rule a country- but it's all so different than what I expected. You're definitely not what I expected."

"Is that good or bad?" Sasuke asked lowly.

"Considering I was imagining you like Hiashi, it's very good. You're a good man," she said with an honest face and something deep in her eyes. "The situation isn't ideal, but I honestly don't think I'd trade it for anything else."

Something relaxed in Sasuke at her words. His thumb ran over her hand again, squeezing. _Me either_.

"Okay, my question." She propped her chin on her fist and studied him. "Have you ever been in love or had a serious relationship?"

"Isn't that the same thing?" Sasuke deadpanned, tipping his glass back to get the last of the water at the bottom.

"No," Sakura scoffed. "I dated a guy for almost a year. People said we were serious, but I didn't love him."

Something hot flashed in his stomach and burned in his chest. He ignored it, instead raising his glass calmly to signal his need for more water. The bartender refilled it in front of them, setting the glass back down and hurrying off to the game he was watching in the corner.

"No," Sasuke said finally.

Sakura looked shocked. "Really?" At his look, she shook her head. "I figured at least one of your fangirls wasn't totally nuts and you at least had a fling."

"Karin is the leader of my fanclub."

Sakura visibly blanched. "Oh god!" she cried. "No wonder they sent for a wife from another country. All the ones here are crazy!"

It was funnier than it should have been and Sasuke found himself laughing. He pulled his hand free only to take her hand again and stood, waiting for her to stand with him. He tossed the rest of the amount for their tab on the counter. They set off along the roofs, Sasuke still pulling Sakura behind him, hand still locked around hers.

"Have _you_ ever been in love?" Sasuke tossed over his shoulder.

Sakura was quiet for a small second, her voice drifting softly to his ears. "I think so," she said quietly. "But..."

Sasuke's gut churned again, but he let it go. She was obviously reluctant to talk about it, and he didn't want to push her.

They paused on their roof. Sasuke was fairly certain they were standing above his room, but he was more interested in the distant look on Sakura's face. He ran his thumb over her hand once more, bringing her attention to him. She gave him a small smile, squeezing his hand quickly, then again.

"We need to set a date for the wedding," he told her quietly, like his voice, or maybe the subject, would break her.

"I was going to ask about that." She titled her head to study him, her eyes curious, hiding nothing. "It has to be after New Year's, right?"

Sasuke nodded. New Year's Day would mark exactly one year since Sakura had moved in. How had the time passed so quickly? It was already past the middle of May. The weather had taken a turn for the hot and muggy and it would only get worse as June rolled around. Sasuke preferred warmer weather despite the general stickiness of it. Sakura did too. She was planning on a swimming trip in the near future.

"You set the date," he offered.

Sakura blinked at him. "But-"

"We don't fight, you're not crazy, and you put up with everyone and everything no matter what. You chose a date you're comfortable with. I'll tell the Council it was my idea if they disagree."

"If you're sure."

"We could get married now and I wouldn't care," he told her honestly, his gaze locking with hers. "Not a lot of people can put up with me. Just ask Naruto."

She smiled at him then, a true, wide smile that made his heart thump a few too many times, the disquiet in his gut ceasing. The feeling he'd had so many weeks ago, the urge, the desire, was back, but he ignored it in favor of helping down from the roof. She could get down by herself and they both knew it, but he reached for her anyway. And she jumped, quiet trustingly, into his arms. They locked around her securely, her face inches from his.

"We each have two questions left," she said quietly, almost a whisper. She hadn't moved.

Sasuke thought of several things he could do with those questions, but pushed them aside.

"I'll save mine for later," he said, voice low.

"Then I will too."

Sasuke told himself that she reluctantly peeled herself out of his arms to go start lunch, then stood in the backyard for thirty minutes, wondering why he wanted her to be in them again, and why he wanted her to be reluctant to let go in the first place.


	16. Of Anger and Knowledge

Sakura was resting her head on her arms, staring at the phone when Sasuke came home. The shrill ring of the machine cut through the air and Sakura's alarmingly blank stare became a full fledged glare. She even scowled, lips curling to bare teeth. Her shoulders stiffened, body going tense like a dog ready to attack, but she reached for the phone regardless, eyes angry.

Sasuke very quietly set his briefcase down and, being wise about the situation, said nothing.

"Hello," Sakura ground out. Her eyes flared up and Sasuke had a split second to brace himself before Sakura, of all people, was tearing into whoever was on the other line. It would have been amusing if he wasn't the slightest bit frightened. "I don't care how important you think you are- you're ignorant, pig headed, stubborn, and just plain wrong you pompous ass! Oh you want my position on the matter?" The chill in her voice made Sasuke break out in goosebumps. "I think it's great. It's wonderful. And it's none of you goddamn business."

She slammed the phone down so hard the cradle nearly broke.

Sasuke moseyed to the fridge. "You've been getting the calls too?"

Sakura buried her face in her arms and spoke to the table. "Yes. And they won't stop." The phone rang again. Sakura lifted her head enough to glare at it. As if the machine could feel the anger rolling off her, it fell silent, the ring cut short. "How many have you gotten at the office?"

"Close to twenty. You?"

Sakura snorted. "Lucky. Almost fifty here. Twenty of those came from Hiashi himself." She rubbed her forehead. "That was him I yelled at."

"Really."

She threw her hands into the air. "I lost my temper- I couldn't help it! He kept asking to talk to you and ranting about Hinata being married and pregnant and how it's awful and Naruto should be skinned alive and I just lost it."

Hiashi probably benefited from being yelled at by someone who wasn't afraid of him, but Sasuke didn't say that. He had expected this reaction from the Hyuugas- it's why he and Sakura had tried to avoid the phones as much as they could over the past few days. But they couldn't hide forever, and now everything was turning upside down as the Hyuugas flipped out over Hinata marrying someone she was in love with. Sasuke held his water bottle to his temple to try and shove the headache away. He'd barely gotten anything done today because he'd been trying to shut his phone up.

Eventually Ino, who'd dropped by with her last mission report, had "accidentally" drop kicked it and unapologetically walked out. Sasuke wrote the report for her raise on the spot while Kakashi snickered quietly in the corner.

The phone rang again and Sakura nearly lunged for it before he caught her. "Let it ring," he ordered. At her glare he added, "If it's Hiashi again, you can yell at him some more." Sakura sighed and flopped dramatically back in her chair. Sasuke patted her shoulder as he passed. "Naruto and Hinata are on their way here," he told her. "They've already destroyed their phone."

"Have people started showing up at Naruto's apartment yet?"

"It's why they're staying here for a few days."

Sakura's smile was a little stretched, but her eyes weren't angry anymore. "Does that mean I can kill whoever shows up?" she asked hopefully.

"Only after I do," Sasuke muttered. "This whole thing is ridiculous."

"Yeah well what can they do really? They're already married, and if they weren't there would be fits about Hinata being pregnant and unwed." Sakura threw a glare at the phone as it began its shrill cry again. "There's no way for Hiashi to be happy about this, and if he's not happy, the entire clan's not happy."

There was a way, but it wasn't possible. Hiashi, and the rest of the clan and most of the village, hated what Naruto couldn't help. It pissed Sasuke off just thinking about it, so he stopped, focusing instead on Sakura looking like she was contemplating ripping the phone line out of the wall. He grabbed her wrist and tugged her into the living room, away from most of the noise.

"You already destroyed the house once," he reminded her.

She sat beside him on the couch, folding her arms and looking cross. "I'm going to be pissed about this for a while. Distract me."

"How?"

"I don't know," she said. "Tell me about Root."

Now Sasuke folded his arms and looked pissed. "Nothing to tell," he growled. "I can't get a damn thing on them unless we have someone on the inside, which isn't possible unless we're willing to wait eighteen years while they train an infant who trusts us."

Sakura's anger had melted into thoughtfulness. "Why are they so desperate to have you gone that they were willing to attack you?" she asked, slinging an arm on the back of the couch as she turned towards him.

"Attack _us_," he pointed out. "They would have attacked Naruto too, not just you and me." Sasuke leaned into the corner of the couch, reclining into a more comfortable position. "Danzo. He wants to be Hokage, badly. He might have been chosen if I hadn't decided to come back."

Sakura was nodding. "I've dealt with Danzo before," she said quietly. "He's..."

"He's a monster with entirely too much power," Sasuke growled. "He won't ever be satisfied until he's at the highest point he can be and you, Naruto, and I are all out of the way." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "If you were still in Sound he'd probably leave you alone."

Sasuke hated the fact that Sakura was in danger just because she was living with him. She was quickly learning about Konoha- to the point that he brought her files of her own to look over- and knew what to do should he ever be unable to complete his duties. She had enough experience to guide Naruto to be a great Hokage, and was smart enough to help him when he got overwhelmed. He and Neji had been talking about putting her on the Council, but it was decided (by Sakura) that it would be dangerous to put her around so many closed minded people. Not to mention it could be dangerous for her. One well planned attack was all it would take.

Sasuke liked having Sakura with him. But he wanted her out of danger, and fast.

But how could he protect her if he couldn't even take care of the people who wanted to kill her? What kind of man couldn't even protect... couldn't even protect someone he cared, deeply, about? And he did care about her. He wouldn't deny it. He couldn't. How deep that care went, what it was starting to turn into, he couldn't think about just yet. Eventually though, he would. Whether he liked what he found out or not.

Sakura's hand on his cheek brought him back to the present.

"I'm here," she said softly. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I almost wish you would," he told her, his hand covering hers. "Just so you'd be safe."

She tapped his cheek lightly, allowing him to keep his grip on her hand in his lap. "I'm safe here. Besides, if I go, who's going to protect you?" she joked, eyes twinkling.

The necklace he'd given her winked in the sunlight streaming from the windows. His followed the chain with his free hand, his eyes locked on the diamond. She hadn't taken it off since her birthday almost three months ago, the gift he'd given her always visible no matter what she wore or were she went. He liked that people knew he'd given it to her, that she wore it proudly every day.

"The best thing you can do for me," he said, laying the necklace back against her throat but not removing his hand from the silver chain, "is to keep yourself safe."

He felt her heart speed up, beating a rapid tattoo against his hand. "Same to you," she said a little breathlessly. "You have to be safe too."

"Deal."

And for the umpteenth time, Sasuke wanted to kiss her. But he didn't. Instead, he released her and stood to get the door and let his newly married best friend into his house. Sakura shot off the couch to hug Hinata, her smile never faltering. Hinata managed a smile at Sakura's joy, but it was strained. Her father hadn't taken the news well at all. He'd very nearly sent someone to kill Naruto, but Neji had intervened, pointing out that the deed was done and they should accept it and move on.

The suggestion hadn't gone well. Neji was hiding at his house with Tenten, who was overjoyed with the news, and Hizashi, who gurgled happily at the sight of his father, untouched by all the anger.

"Thanks for letting us hide out," Naruto said tiredly. "It's been a rough couple of days."

As if to prove the point, the phone blared from the kitchen and his office again. Sakura whipped around to glare at the noise, stalking over to the offending machine with a purpose. She said a few choice words to the caller and hung up. She came back looking very satisfied with herself. Hinata abruptly burst into laughter, clutching her stomach, one hand groping for Sakura.

"You are my favorite person in the world right now," she said once she'd calmed.

"I was wondered who'd cussed out Hiashi," Naruto laughed. "Sakura-chan, you're awesome."

Sakura just grinned at them. "Yeah, well, it's not like they can do anything about it." She blinked and turned to Sasuke. "They can't can they?"

"About the marriage? No. I'm not annulling it unless both Naruto and Hinata come to me and beg for it." He glanced at Naruto. "You're stuck with her. Get used to it."

"Oh thank god," Naruto gushed, going to his wife's side. "I was afraid we'd have to move or something."

"Because the clan disapproves of the marriage?" Sakura shook her head. "Don't let them drive you out."

"They disapprove of the marriage, the baby being mine, me, all of it." Naruto sighed sadly, his arm tightening around Hinata. He looked twenty years older than he was, his eyes telling of his hardships, his sorrow at dragging Hinata into it.

"They'll come around," Hinata assured him. "And if not, oh well. I love you and that is not going to change." She took his hand and placed it on her stomach. "We're going to have a child and we're going to raise this child not to judge others for things beyond their control. If Father and the clan has a problem with that, then they won't be a part of the child's life."

Sakura smiled softly at the couple. "You guys are going to be great parents," she said.

Naruto grinned at her. "You think so? I know Hinata's going to be a great mommy, but I don't know about me."

"You'll be fine," Sasuke said flatly, annoyed that the phone was ringing again. Sakura dove for it with a snarl. "You'll be teaching him horrible jutsus and letting him dream big and he'll come over and destroy everything I own."

Naruto laughed. Sasuke couldn't stop the smile.

"Oh for the love of- go to hell!" Sakura yelled. "I don't care about what happened twenty-six years ago! He's Naruto and a good person and it's done with and if you don't get that through your skull I'll come beat some sense into you!" The phone slammed down. Then there was the sound of something ripping from the wall.

"I'll get you a new phone," Sakura growled as she turned the corner. Three shocked faces turned to her. She blinked, stopping in the doorway. "What?"

Naruto found his voice first. "You know don't you?" he asked in wonder. "About..." His hand went to his own stomach, the seal underneath his shirt.

Sakura scoffed at him. "I've known since I met you. You guys hungry? I'm thinking soup."

Sasuke shook the shock off and followed her into the kitchen, ignoring the ring of his phone in his office. "You know," he asked flatly, unable to believe it. He heard Naruto and Hinata shuffle in behind him, but Sakura kept her head in the cabinets, searching for a pot.

"Yeah," she said cheerfully, emerging with a deep cooking pot in her hands. "Is it that hard to believe?"

"You never treated me badly," Naruto pointed out. "So it's a little hard to understand."

"Why? You're Naruto. You're not the Kyuubi." She filled the pot with water. "Besides, I've known for years. Tsunade and Jiraiya were teammates you know. I saw him at least four times a year and each time he praised you up and down."

Naruto's voice was very quiet. "He did?"

Sakura turned to him then, a fond smile on her face. "Yeah. He really did. He thought of you like a little brother." Her smile slipped a little. "Tsunade was so sad when he died." She shook her head, the smile returning to her face. "But that's depressing! Come on, let's get some food in our stomachs, shall we?"

Sasuke was left to marvel at the woman before him. The woman who knew she was meeting a demonic vessel and befriended him, encouraging him to follow his dreams. He'd known she was a good woman, but this... this was everything. She accepted Naruto for who he was, rather than what was inside him. No one else had ever done that. Even he'd had to go on a two week survival trip in the Academy with the blonde before he could think of him as Naruto and not the vessel.

Sakura had done it in a day.

That alone amazed him.

_She_ amazed him. Every single day she amazed him. He wondered if she'd ever stop, then told himself it wasn't possible, and handed Sakura the ladle when she asked for it. They exchanged smiles, oblivious to the look Naruto and Hinata shared.

_No. She'll never stop amazing me. Not ever._


	17. Of Hurt and Attacks

**A/N:** Phew. Life has really thrown me for a loop lately. Next month I'm going out of state for my best friend's wedding, and to pay for my bus ticket and maid of honor dress, my hours at work have literally doubled for the next three weeks (Today is my first day off in a week). On top of that, I might actually be _moving_ out of state (again) and I'm trying to transfer so I move with a job waiting for me. So please be patient with me, because the next chapter might take a while to get out. That being said, enjoy, and thank you so much for all the reviews and favorites and alerts! :D

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><p>There had been a scare before. A simple mission had gone awry when Akatsuki had plopped themselves right in the middle of the town Shikamaru had been trying to leave. Naturally, Shikamaru had had several encounters with several members, so his face was well known. Needless to say, he hadn't come home on time. He hadn't been able to send word either, so everyone back at Konoha was in the dark about where he was, if he was safe, if he was hurt, or even if he'd left the town already.<p>

Ino hadn't taken the news well.

The mission had originally been set for a week at the most. As the weeks turned into months, Ino became more and more insistent that someone be sent in to rescue Shikamaru. They'd just started dating back then, finally ceasing the awkward dance all their friends had been watching. Sasuke had just been glad Ino was out of his hair.

After three months of no word for the smartest man in the village, Sasuke was seriously considering sending a team out. He dreaded it. He'd attempted to send ANBU, but they weren't able to get in unseen and were forced to retreat. With Shikamaru's high IQ and his value to the village, Akatsuki could deem him useful and try to convince him to join them. Sasuke knew Shikamaru's loyalties were to Konoha, so Sasuke knew he'd never join them. Unfortunately the loyalty could get him killed.

Finally, when it was rumored Akatsuki had moved on, Sasuke started putting together a team. Ino somehow knew, she always knew about these things, and appeared in his office. He wasn't going to send her. He couldn't. Her personal involvement could, and probably would, jeopardize the mission. He hadn't been looking forward to telling her that.

"Send Naruto," she'd rasped, her voice thick with tears. "I know you can't send me and I know why. But please, please, send Naruto."

He'd already put Naruto on the team, but asked why she was so insistent on the blonde going.

"Because he'll promise me," she'd answered. "He'll promise me that he'll bring Shika home." Tears spilled over. "And I'll believe him."

Ino always demanded things. Whether it be missions or raises or that he get the hell out of his office and pretend he was human for an hour. But she'd begged him. She'd stood in his office and begged and pleaded with tears running down her face. She'd asked for Naruto's promise, but she'd asked for his as well. His promise that he wouldn't give up on Shikamaru until they knew for sure what his fate was. Sasuke had understood. Ino wanted Shikamaru home- the man himself or his body. But either way, the Nara would be brought home.

Because Naruto and Sasuke had both given their word.

And Shikamaru, weak, dehydrated, nearly starving, and suffering from wounds that warranted a two week stay in the hospital, had come home. Naruto and Neji, the two sent to reclaim their friend, had each faced Akatsuki to get him out of there, but they'd all escaped, and they'd all come home.

Ino hadn't left Shikamaru's side until he was released. Mere months later they were engaged.

Sasuke hadn't ever wanted Ino to go through that again. It was always hard to tell spouses and friends that their loved one had gone missing, but Ino's tears had rattled him to his very core. Ino rarely ever cried, and when she did, she hid her tears. To stand and openly weep before him was something he hadn't expected. He never wanted it to happen again. Maybe because he'd known her for years. Maybe because Shikamaru was his friend. They both were, and they made each other happy.

So when Shiroyaki- white burn, the white flame that could be thrown, the jutsu that had hit him before- came screaming down, aimed for Shikamaru's head, Sasuke got in the way. There wasn't enough time for them both to get clear of the flame, but Shikamaru was safe, so Sasuke decided it was worth the flames spreading across his chest.

Root was trying again.

And as the darkness claimed him to chase away the pain, Sasuke reflected that they very well might have succeeded this time.

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><p>He <em>hurt<em>. His entire chest felt tight, his lungs protesting every time he inhaled. And, oh, the burning. It was twenty times worse than before. Shiroyaki had only grazed him before. This time he'd been hit full force with it, right in the chest, just above his heart. He couldn't hear anything, the ringing in his ears made sure of that. Even opening his eyes was painful and useless. Everything was blurry, dark shapes rushing past. Voices washed over him but said nothing he could make out.

There was a flash of pink. Sasuke's eyes cut right to it, heart thrumming. Sakura was here, on the battlefield, in the middle of an attack. And he wasn't in any shape to protect her.

She knelt above him, nothing but a blur with pink hair. He could just barely make out the green of her eyes, the shape of her mouth moving as she spoke words he couldn't hear. His world slowly came into focus around him as he watched her. The edges were still blurred, out of focus and warped, but she was crystal clear now. He still couldn't hear, though the ringing in his ears was dying down.

The burn was getting worse.

He could feel Sakura's chakra around him, trying to heal what was sure to be a massive wound on his chest. Whoever had hit him had aimed well. The main point of impact had missed his heart, but had still clipped it. His lungs were the subject of fire with each breath he took. Sasuke was fairly certain that his sternum was cracked, a few of his ribs entirely broken. One of them might have punctured his lung. His right arm was on fire and all of his extremities weak. He was probably losing a lot of blood.

Because she was in focus, Sasuke saw the worried look on Sakura's face, the panic set deep into her eyes. She was trying to stay calm, but the furrow on her brow was giving her away, the most telling sign that he was in a lot of trouble.

Something silver zinged over Sakura's head and planted itself in the eye of the Root behind her. Tenten appeared, a one month old Hizashi strapped to her back, sleeping and unaware. Tenten said something to Sakura that eased her panic slightly, and then she was gone. Neji blurred past barely a minute later. Sasuke felt the ground shake, the vibrations traveling through his body, agitating his broken bones.

Sakura was saying something to him. He wished he could hear it. He wanted to know what to say, wanted to calm her, erase the lines of panic on her face. Though it hurt him, Sasuke lifted an arm to her face, gently cupping her cheek and chin. Green eyes widened, one hand covered in his blood covering his on her face. Her mouth moved, her lips brushing against his hand as she spoke. Sasuke could hear her voice but not the words. He ran his thumb over her lips, ceasing her worried chatter.

"I trust you," he managed. "No matter what... happens... I trust you." His voice sounded odd to his still clogged ears, distant and thick. He coughed, his lungs protesting speech. He wished he could feel the mid-June heat rather than the cool darkness settling over him once again.

Sakura's voice sounded panicked again and he forced his eyes open for a minute longer, let a smirk sit on his lips. It calmed her somewhat, both hands going to his chest, her face lit up as she poured her chakra into healing him. He didn't take his hand from her face, merely slid it back into her hair when she ducked her head to observe her work. He could just barely feel the soft strands against his skin as he ran his fingers down the length. Her hair was longer now, almost to her waist. She'd been talking about cutting it, but he liked it this length. He could run his hands through it.

Sasuke wasn't going to kiss her. Not here, not now. It would feel too much like a goodbye. But he let his hand stray to her back, comforted by the fact that she was warm and the others were protecting her. He could feel her skin where her tank top had rode up, the smooth expanse giving way to the rough mark of a scar. He traced it with his finger tips, wondering where she'd gotten it. He passed out again before he could ask.

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><p>He woke up in the hospital some time later. He wasn't sure what time it was. The darkness outside his window could be pre-dawn or near midnight. Come to think of it, he wasn't sure what day it was. Glad his hearing was back, Sasuke listened for any signs of a battle. When he was satisfied nothing was going on, he attempted to sit up. He was promptly pushed back down by an arm covered by orange.<p>

"No way," Naruto growled at him. "You're really hurt and you're staying down until Sakura-chan says you can sit up."

"Sakura. Is she-"

Naruto nodded at the bed across the room. Fear racing through his veins, Sasuke tried to see her, but the shadows obstructed his view. The heart monitor beeped, alarmed at his sudden rapid heart rate. Curious, Naruto glanced up at it. His blinked a few times, then snickered. Remembering what Sakura had told him about the dials, he turned the volume down so the room's other occupant could continue to sleep.

"She's fine Teme, calm down."

Sasuke wasn't having it. "Why is she in the hospital?" he demanded. His arm twinged, annoyed that he was trying to move. He ignored it.

"Because she's exhausted," Naruto told him. "She's got a few scrapes and bruises, but other than severe chakra depletion and some busted knuckles, she's perfectly fine."

Sasuke expected the news to calm him, but it didn't. In fact, it had the opposite effect. He felt anger chase away the fear. She'd healed him on the battlefield. She'd probably had to fend off a few Root while he took his sweet time being unconscious. Sakura had been hurt trying to save him. The knowledge left a bad taste in his mouth and his hands shaking.

"Hey," Naruto said quietly. "Sasuke, she's fine."

"Who else is injured? Shikamaru?"

"Fine too," Naruto assured him. "Pissed he didn't see the attack coming, and Ino got a cut- nothing serious, but you know how he is." Naruto went through the list. "Tenten kicked some ass but Neji made her hide because she had Hizashi. Hinata and the baby are fine, they were at the house. No civilians were hurt either, but about five Root members are dead."

Sasuke calmed somewhat at the news none of his friends had been seriously injured. He focused on the Root deaths. "Five dead," he muttered. "That means there were at least two cells that attacked."

"Three," Naruto confirmed. "And two random ones. Sakura-" he abruptly cut himself off, glancing at the sleeping woman.

Sasuke's glare nearly burned a hole in his forehead. "Sakura _what_?" he demanded.

"She was attacked first this time," Naruto admitted. "She had a whole cell ambush her at the market a good five minutes before your attack."

Sasuke's blood turned to ice. "They're going to try and take her out first," he said through numb lips. "She's gained the favor of the village. Root feels threatened."

Naruto gently, but firmly, pushed his Hokage back on the mattress. "Dude, you've been out for three days. Lay down." When Sasuke tried to sit up again, Naruto growled at him. "Don't make me wake up Sakura. She'll knock your ass out."

With a heavy sigh, Sasuke gave in, situating himself against the pillows, mind churning. Root was getting desperate. They attacked Sakura in broad daylight. She was alone and surrounded by civilians, so the attack had obviously been sloppy and ill planned. But maybe that had been the point. He and Shikamaru had been taking the main road to the Hokage Office. They would have run into Sakura on her way back to the house. Root was trying to delay her, to keep a powerhouse away from the main attack: him.

Sakura could handle herself, obviously. Root's last attack on him failed because she had intervened. They didn't want that to happen again, and set an entire cell to distract or kill her.

"I want someone with Sakura at all times," Sasuke ordered quietly, eyes on her. "Until we get this taken care of."

"I figured you'd want her under protection. There are guards outside and Neji follows her around when she goes out. What about you?"

Sasuke surveyed his injuries. He was nothing but gauze and bandages from the waist up. His right arm was covered completely to the elbow. "I'll be in here for a few more days," he started.

"And then you're going on bed rest until you can move without groaning," Sakura informed him, stepping into the light.

She was exhausted, he could see it. Her skin was paler than usual, dark circles marring the usual flawlessness. She had a bandage above her left eye and tape around her knuckles. Sasuke could she bright spots of blood dotting both bandages. But her eyes, while tired, were full of life. There was no stiffness as she walked, no grimace of pain when she moved.

But it didn't stop him from asking. "Are you alright?"

"Asks the man in the hospital bed."

"You're in one too."

"To keep an eye on you."

"And to rest," Naruto put in, a half-hearted glare slanted in Sakura's direction. Sakura waved him away, making her way to Sasuke, sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Yeah, yeah. Go home, Naruto. You've got an early day tomorrow."

Grumbling, and checking over both his friends once more, Naruto bid them goodnight and went home to his wife. Now that Hinata was four months along she was showing, and not even the baggiest clothes could hide it anymore. It thrilled Naruto to no end to know it was his child growing in there. Hiashi had momentarily called off his vendetta in favor of letting Naruto look after things while Sasuke recovered.

"Really, I think he just finally realized Hinata was happy and decided to let her be," Sakura confessed, running a hand over his bandages.

Sasuke lifted his non bandaged hand to gently touch the gauze covering her forehead. "Are you really okay?" he asked.

"I'm really okay," she assured him. "You, on the other hand..."

Sasuke didn't check the impulse. He let it grow until he was wrapping his arms around Sakura's waist and pulling her down until he could hold her comfortably. Sakura squeaked in surprise, shock making her go limp and allowing Sasuke to adjust her until they were both comfortable. He had an arm around her shoulders and one around her waist, both holding her tightly to him. He buried his face in her hair, never more glad to smell her scent.

It had scared him. Sakura had been attacked and was still trying to save him. It had terrified him.

"I couldn't protect you," he whispered savagely.

An arm emerged from the tangle that was them and wrapped around his neck so that they were embracing.

"I couldn't protect you," she whispered, her voice shaking. "You were just laying there and I couldn't _do_ anything."

His arms tightened around her. "But you did. I'm fine." He swallowed the emotions clogging his throat. "Besides, we made a deal."

"I'm going to kill you for breaking it," she muttered, tightening her hold on him.

He could live with that. As long as she was alive to do it, Sasuke didn't mind Sakura threatening him. What he could really live with, what he was going to get used to very fast, was the way they fell asleep in each other's arms, holding fast to each other until sunrise. Sasuke woke stiff and sore, muscles protesting being locked in one position all night. Sakura was still asleep, curled around him, her arm draped loosely around his neck, her scent filling his nose.

He decided it was ultimately worth it, rearranged his arms around her, and went back to sleep.


	18. Of Logic and Happiness

**IMPORTANT! READ ME!:** Guys, I have absolutely no idea when I can update next. Right now I'm homeless and in danger of being jobless. I'm couch surfing right now, but I have no idea what's going to happen next.

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><p>Sasuke was a very logical person. He always had been and always would be. Everything he did he gave a great amount of thought before he acted. Often he would remove himself emotionally from the situation and look at everything with an outsider's eye. He could usually make the best decision when he did that.<p>

His logic trait made him a great Hokage business-wise.

But there were a few times, a few instances, when he hadn't done the logical thing, when emotions or loyalty won out.

Taking the hit for Shikamaru certainly hadn't be logical, but he'd done it anyways. Shikamaru was his friend, a comrade, and Sasuke had moved before he'd realized it. His choice had already been made the second he saw the attacker. Shikamaru was happy in his life. Even though he was engaged to Ino, something that would drive any man crazy, he was totally content. He loved her and they were both happy. Sasuke had watched them circle for so long he felt like the engagement was his own personal victory. They weren't a logical choice together by any means, but they worked. And Sasuke would make sure they stayed safe.

And Naruto. There was no logic behind Naruto. He was loud, obnoxious, hot headed, stubborn, and obviously not careful in his personal life. But he was happy. He had a wife. He was about to become a father. Naruto had a way of drawing people in, and for whatever reason, Sasuke had let himself be drawn in too. Despite many protests to the contrary, Sasuke enjoyed knowing that someone actually cared for him. So Naruto was his best friend, and in a few years he would be Hokage.

Neji was full of logic. He was probably even more logical than Sasuke. He was strong, smart, and had always stood beside Sasuke no matter what his clan said. Sasuke was glad Neji had decided to go against his clan's wishes and marry Tenten. Without some sort of daily interaction from someone other than Hyuugas, there was no telling how Neji would have turned out. But now he had Hizashi as well, and he was happier than he'd ever been.

Ino was getting married. She was happier than a child being told they could eat sweets all day, stay up as late as they wanted, and that they didn't have to do their homework. Sasuke couldn't remember when they'd actually become friends, but they were friends now. Ino was loud and fought from the heart, two qualities ninja did not need, but she was a good person, happy in her life, and determined to make sure her friends were happy too.

How and why Hinata fell for Naruto was beyond Sasuke, but she was a good person, kind, compassionate, and able to look past what so many could not. She'd seen Naruto at his best and at his worst, and she loved him anyway. Sasuke had no idea where her backbone had come from, but Naruto swore up and down that Hinata had done the yelling when her father came to call. Something about hormones. But now Hiashi had given his blessing and Hinata could live her life out in peace.

Tenten was crazy, plainly put. Neji was a friend, but there were times Sasuke wanted to beat him for being cold- and then himself for hypocrisy. But Tenten managed to strong arm Neji into marrying her, then agreeing to have children. She knew what Neji needed, even if he didn't. Neji needed a new family, one for him and no one else. Tenten had given it to him. She was the best weapons expert in the village, a powerful ninja. Sasuke sometimes wondered if that's what kept Neji in line. It's not often a Hyuuga meets someone who can kick his ass.

Sasuke hated Karin and wasn't even going to waste brain cells thinking about her.

And then there was Sakura.

Sakura was something else entirely. She was strong physically, but had emotional scars that still bled. She saw training and attacking as work but loved to come home and cook and clean. She accepted everyone for who they were and didn't try to change any of them, but never told anything about herself.

Except to him, a voice reminded him. Sasuke ignored that voice. He was getting to that.

Sakura had been transferred from Sound in order to help bring some political knowledge into his life. She was a medical ninja, had an impressive list of foreign friends, and had a family. But she had chosen to give that all up and move to Konoha to marry a man she didn't know. In fact, Sakura had told him that she'd _volunteered_ for it. He'd wanted to ask about that, but he knew the answer was her mother. She didn't want to tell him exactly why she tried to avoid her mother's phone calls, or why she never wrote home, so he wouldn't ask. He knew Sakura would tell him if he asked her, but she didn't want to talk about it, so he wouldn't cross that line.

Sakura was amazing and wonderful, but he wasn't in love with her. Not yet. He was falling though, and falling hard. How close he was to the bottom and how long he'd been falling, he had no idea. But he was falling all the same. Sasuke wasn't adverse to the idea. Actually, he kind of liked the idea of loving Sakura. All of his friends had proved they could be happy with someone else, why couldn't he do the same?

But, and this Sasuke was slightly ashamed of, he was afraid.

He'd never loved someone before. He was twenty-six years old and had never even _thought_, not even _once_, he might be in love. He'd given up on the whole concept, which apparently gave his council permission to be impatient and pick a wife for him.

Sasuke knew he'd lucked out on that. If they had picked someone stupid, or slow, or who was determined to make him fall in love with them, he'd be needing a new council. But Sakura had been chosen, and she was here.

And Sasuke was falling in love with her.

And sometimes, he dared to hope she was falling for him too.

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><p>"Off with the shirt," Sakura commanded.<p>

Sasuke began shrugging out of the garment, hissing when he twisted his shoulder in a way it didn't like. "How many times have you ordered me to undress?" he asked. Was that a teasing tone he was using?

Sakura let out a soft laugh, unwinding the bandages that covered almost his entire torso. "Well, let's see. It's been a month since the attack, so at least every day since you got out of the hospital."

"And the last attack, and once in the kitchen."

Sakura smacked him lightly on his back, careful not to hit him anywhere near his injuries. "You make it sound like I'm trying to rape you or something."

He swallowed his first response, then his second, before settling on, "Wouldn't that make the council happy."

"I don't anything makes them happy. Turn around, I need to see your chest."

Awkwardly, Sasuke swung himself around to face Sakura on the bed. His wounds didn't hurt nearly as much as they had last month, but they were still sore and stiff. He had to be careful not to overdo it if he wanted to get back to normal. Though the waiting had made him impatient and cranky. He'd even snapped at Sakura once or twice, clearly it was _her_ fault he was trapped in bed for two weeks, then wasn't allowed to spar or train, but she'd just rolled her eyes at him.

And not for the first, and certainly not the last time, Sasuke was left wondering how she could be so amazing.

Eventually, Sakura sat back. "I'm going to give you some good news and some bad news," she said. "The good news is you can start training again _if_ you take it slow. And don't try to sneak around about it, I've already got Naruto, Neji, and Shikamaru on my side."

Sasuke wasn't even going to ask how she managed that. "And the bad news?"

The teasing light in her eyes died a little. "You're going to have a nasty scar from here-" she touched his shoulder lightly, then trailed her fingers to his chest, just beside his heart "-to here."

Sasuke caught her hand before she could move. "And you feel guilty about that."

She didn't even try to deny it, just hung her head, eyes looking everywhere but at him. Sasuke gently gripped her chin, tilting her face up so he could look her in the eye.

"You saved my life. You've put up with me while I was on bedrest. I can handle a scar." He arched a brow at her. "I have more than a few you know."

Much to his delight, she blushed. So she did know.

His hand moved from her chin, gently running along her jaw and cheek to tuck her hair behind her ear. His fingers were splayed across her neck and he used them to make her lean forward slightly, just enough for him to press his lips against her forehead.

"I meant what I said," he said lowly, his lips barely a breath away from her skin. "I trust you. With my life."

Her eyes were closed when she spoke. "I trust you too. More than I've ever trusted anyone." Green eyes opened, locking with black. "I trust you with my life."

It was more than a battlefield promise. More than an understanding between teammates. Sakura was trusting him with her life because she was giving it to him, marrying him to live with him for as long as she lived. She was giving herself to him, everything she could give.

Sasuke had spent every single day with Sakura since New Year's Day. It was July now, and he couldn't imagine going a full day without seeing her. He didn't want to be away from her. When had that happened?

There had always been a hole in Sasuke's life. Even when his family had been alive and well, he felt like something was missing. Naruto had claimed once that everyone was always missing something, that's why so many people were determined to make something of themselves, to prove that there was nothing missing.

Sasuke had become Hokage. And now he knew what had been missing. His hole had been person shaped, just right for Sakura to slip in and make herself comfortable, no room for anyone else. Just Sakura. Always Sakura.

Her smile was all it took, the shyness in her eyes telling him she wanted the same. This time, Sasuke leaned forward. This time, he didn't kiss her forehead. This time, Sasuke kissed her.

And by some miracle, by some act of the cosmos, Sakura kissed him back, raising up on her knees to wrap her arms around his neck, tilting her head so their noses weren't bumping. Sasuke's arms secured her to him, one arm around her waist, the other across her shoulders, fingers curling into her hair.

Sasuke poured himself into the kiss. He'd spent so many years trying to do it all on his own, trying to keep almost everyone at arm's length... now he had someone who had pushed back, and he found had a lot of himself to give.


	19. Of Rules and History

**A/N:** Thank you so much to all my readers who were patient and wished me well. Things did turn around a bit. I'm living in a motel a mile from my 40+ hours a week job and walk there every day. My hours will go down eventually but I'm still in training for the next three weeks and someone just quit, so I'm pretty solidly booked. I'm sorry about the insanely short chapter. To make up for it, there's more sexiness involved ;) I'm going to try to update next weekend too but I make no promises.

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><p>Things changed, but they didn't. Sasuke wasn't sure if he should be shocked or grateful at how normal things seemed now that he and Sakura were-<p>

Well. They weren't sure what they were doing.

Talking. That wasn't new. They talked everyday. About normal things, about dinner, about Root, about their friends. Sakura was always willing to talk. And when she had nothing to say, or when he wasn't in the mood to hear anything, she was always there to listen.

The kissing _was_ new. They both seemed to like it, but a line had been drawn before them, one neither was willing to cross just yet.

Despite Naruto's ideas to the contrary, sex wouldn't be anything new for Sasuke. Curiosity, and more than a little alcohol, coupled with an attractive woman not looking for a relationship anymore than he had been had taken care of that particular issue.

He hadn't asked Sakura about that part of her history. They needed to talk about it soon, before they dove into more then they could handle. However, Sasuke wasn't sure how to approach the subject. Conversations like that never went as planned. An annoyed Sakura, which only made a rare appearance, was bad enough. He didn't want to become acquainted with an angry Sakura. And he would become acquainted with her. Though they seemed to like him, Sasuke had the unfortunate talent of pissing women off without realizing it.

Sakura seemed to be reading his mind again. Before he'd even shut the door behind him, she spoke, staring hard at the wall.

"We need to talk."

The words many men knew well. Sasuke had expected this conversation yesterday, when the kissing had happened, but Sakura liked to surprise him and had given him a day to worry and be distracted.

"Yes," he agreed, dropping his bag in the hall, keys clinking into the bowl.

He managed two steps into the living room. Then his arms were full of Sakura, warm and soft but firm and real. Her mouth found his instantly, her hands on either side of his face, thumbs gently rubbing his jaw before her fingers wound into his hair.

Sasuke didn't recall moving, but his hands planted themselves quite firmly on her hips, then traveled to her back to press her closer.

How did she do this to him? How could this woman, this person he didn't know existed until seven months ago, worm her way into him and shake him from the inside out? His genius mind silenced around her, reducing him to an average, quivering, painfully needy male.

Uchiha Sasuke had gone his entire life would Haruno Sakura, but now he couldn't imagine a single day without her.

"I thought you wanted to talk." They'd need their mouths for that.

Sakura had other ideas. "Later." A quick tug on his hair and she was kissing him again.

Then she was backing away, breathless and wide eyed. "No, we definitely need to talk about this now."

"Right." As soon as his head stopped spinning.

Sakura sank onto the couch, rubbing at the furrow between her brows. She seemed to be gathering her thoughts, so Sasuke sat beside her, silently waiting. He needed to think too.

"In a few months we're going to get married," Sakura said suddenly. "I came here knowing that and you signed up for it."

"That's debatable."

"I think I got really really lucky with this," she said softly. "I... You're the only person I can see spending the rest of my life with, and we're going to spend the rest of our lives together."

Sasuke's heart began to pound absurdly fast.

"And that's exactly why we need to be careful about this."

Right. Logic. Sasuke knew how to be logical.

The point was a valid one. If he and Sakura were going to begin their relationship before the wedding, they had to be sure not to dance too close to the fire. They had a long road ahead of them. The journey had been smooth so far, but it could lead them to a rocky cliff just as easily as a grassy path.

It could all crash and burn before they even got married, leaving them angry or hurt for the rest of their lives.

"We need to set some rules."

The corner of her mouth turned up. "Rules are meant to be broken."

The warmth of his hand over hers, and the zing of electricity they both felt up their arms, finally made her look at him. Sasuke watched his thumb trace idle patterns on her skin while his mind settled. It wasn't often he had to think before he spoke. Sakura made him think both more and less when she was around.

"I don't want to mess this up," he admitted, eyes straying to the diamond winking at her neck. She still hadn't taken it off.

"I'd screw it up before you could," she said, but her tone had a touch of teasing in it, more of the Sakura he knew.

"Sasuke... I don't want anyone to know."

Sasuke raised a brow, but said nothing. She would have a good reason.

"Not yet anyways," she continued. "Our friends are very opinionated-" Sasuke snorted "-and I don't want them to over think this."

"This is far from simple," he pointed out. "But I agree on two conditions. First, we're not going to go out of our way to hide anything. If they realize, we're not going to lie to them."

Sakura nodded. She'd planned on doing that anyways. "And the second?"

"We tell one person each. Everyone's opinions would be a bit much, but having someone to talk to other than each other would be a good idea."

Sakura laughed. "You just don't think you can hide this from Naruto."

It was true, but Sasuke didn't even blink. "Could you hide this from Ino?" he asked.

Her smirk was part nervous truth and part smug. "Could you? She ambushes us both daily."

"Because you agreed to be maid of honor."

"You're Hokage- she has to see you more than me!"

"Also debatable."

A brief pause, both looking at the other, before smiles emerged and Sakura began to giggle. Sasuke massaged his forehead, but couldn't stop the chuckle.

"Oh man." Sakura took a deep breath, trying not to laugh. "We couldn't hide this from them if we tried."

"Naruto already suspects," Sasuke reminded her.

"And Ino's hopeful." She squeezed his hand. "Rule two?"

His eyes never left hers as his heart pounded savagely away in his chest. And like a twelve year old boy, he couldn't even bring himself to say it. But Sakura was Sakura and she knew him well.

"No sex."

"It would be best," he managed.

Sakura let out a nervous laugh. "Twenty five, a medic, and I'm fighting a blush just _thinking_ about talking about this."

That made Sasuke feel significantly better. It was easier to get the words out once it was apparent he wasn't the only uncomfortable one.

"Twice," he told her, deciding to answer everything before she could ask. "One woman, years ago. No diseases."

It might have been her years as a medic, but Sasuke thought it was interesting to note her carefully blank face. (He grudgingly admitted to himself he wanted her to be a little jealous.)

"One guy."

Sasuke didn't need to hear anymore. "The serious one."

A nod. "Yeah." Her eyes were distant. "I'm safe too. I check myself twice a year to be sure."

Sasuke wanted to know more about the man who'd held Sakura's heart for almost a year, but she didn't want to tell him now anymore than she was when he'd first found out. He could piece it together if he wanted to, but he wanted to hear it from Sakura, so he didn't. He waited for her to be ready. And if she never was, he'd never know. It didn't matter anyways. She was with him, not anyone else. What happened in her past was past, her past. She could share if she wanted to.

He realized Sakura was watching him and raised a brow in question.

"Thank you for not asking," she said, kissing him gently.

Sasuke returned the kiss, going for gentle as well, but it was hard to stay in control when it was Sakura's lips against his, her hair tangled around his fingers. It was even harder when she nipped his lip. Accident or on purpose, he couldn't say, but it affected him regardless, and suddenly they were a tangle on the couch, arms around each other, clinging tightly, mouths desperate.

"Playing with..." she kissed him again "...fire."

And every inch of him burned.

"Mm," he agreed, lips too busy to say anything.

Sakura might have muttered something about rules, but he didn't hear her, and then Sakura was quite unable to say anything else for a little while.


	20. Of Secrets and Blood

Sasuke heard the door open and had to fight a smile. He'd been doing that a lot lately, smiling for no reason. Naruto had even caught him staring into space in the Hokage Office, a tiny smile planted firmly on his lips. It had taken the blonde only seconds to figure it out. Then he was smiling himself.

"You and Sakura-chan?" The tone was teasing and the grin contagious. Sasuke had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep his from getting bigger.

"You can't tell anyone."

Naruto plopped himself down in his chair with a snicker. "Dude, who I am going to tell that doesn't already know?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at his best friend. Not quite an Uchiha Glare, but close enough to make Naruto feel uncomfortable.

"No one Naruto. I mean it."

The grin slipped off Naruto's face, leaving the blonde grim looking and clearly unhappy.

"You're ashamed of it," he growled, surging to his feet. "You think you can just hide Sakura away-"

"Naruto," Sasuke bellowed, voice biting, air hissing between clenched teeth. The blonde froze, unused to Sasuke being truly angry at him. Annoyed, yes, exasperated, yes, but not this. He'd seen Sasuke angry a total of two times in their entire friendship, a friendship that spanned almost twenty years.

Naruto crossed his arms, defiant to the tone of command. "Good," he said. "You're angry."

"I am not hiding Sakura," Sasuke spat. "Don't even think that."

Naruto held his pose. "Then why don't you want anyone to know?"

"Asks the man who hid a relationship with his own partner until she was pregnant."

Anger, and as always, a bit of shame, boiled up inside Naruto. "You know why we did that." Naruto ignored the pain of his nails digging into his palm. "You of all people know."

Sasuke regarded Naruto calmly, but his eyes were too dark to be anything but angry. "Then you of all people should know why we don't want to be exposed." Something foul tasting worked its way into his mouth. Sasuke grit his teeth. "Not just yet."

Naruto's arms fell limp to his sides. "You think Root would try to kill her if they knew."

Sasuke's hand curled into a fist so tight his knuckles bleached.

"I don't think, I know." Breath hissed out, Sasuke forced his hand to uncurl. "There would be no try about it. They would succeed if they knew." ... how important she is to me, he didn't say but didn't need to.

Naruto slowly sat back down.

"Who is going to know?" he eventually asked.

Probably everyone, Sasuke wanted to say. Secrets didn't last long in this village, no matter how hard you tried to hide them.

"You and Ino will be told directly," he said instead, turning his gaze out the window but not seeing anything. "We won't hide it from the others, but the villagers, the press, anyone else, can't find out."

People already suspected, but just the hint of a confirmation meant painting a bigger, more important target on the back of Sakura's head. Sasuke clenched his teeth so hard his head began to pound. He'd be dammed if he let that happen.

Ino had a horrible track record with blabbing, but he trusted Sakura's judgment. He knew that Ino would keep quiet about important things.

Naruto was thinking along the same lines. "Ino found out about me and Hinata a long time ago," he admitted quietly.

Sasuke turned back to face the blonde.

"It was a little after Sakura arrived. She saw me kiss Hinata." He huffed in disbelief. "She smiled like she'd known the whole time, then pretended she hadn't seen a damn thing and walked away. Didn't say a word."

Women's intuition or pure luck that Ino found out, Sasuke had no idea. But she'd stayed quiet. Shikamaru had been honestly shocked at the news, and if Ino hadn't told him then she'd told no one.

"I won't either," Naruto continued. "But I can't promise I can keep this from Hinata."

"That's fine."

Naruto blinked. "It is?"

"I knew telling you meant the possibility of Hinata knowing too. It didn't affect my decision."

Naruto wondered if he should be insulted, but nodded. "Dude, she's my wife. We're a package deal. More than a possibility."

"Fair enough." Sasuke tossed him a file. "We have more information on Root."

Naruto almost ripped the file in his haste to open it. Having Root out of the picture meant Hinata being safe, their child being safe, and Sakura being safe too. He wanted them gone. For his sake and Sasuke's. And the village's safety. That was important too.

"More names?"

"It's the actual roster. Everyone on that list is an active Root member."

Naruto didn't want to ask how Sasuke had gotten it. But he knew what this meant.

"This is proof," he murmured. "This is enough to strike against Root. We can bring them down with this."

Sasuke nodded, resting his chin on linked fingers. "And we will," he said confidently. Knowing who was in Root meant knowing where they lived, where they worked, and what they did in their daily lives. They wouldn't have to wait for them to move first. They could strike back at Root, taking more and more members out. Then they could get to Danzo.

"That stays with me," Sasuke ordered as Naruto poured over the list. "Pick one name and find out everything you can about that person without raising suspicion." Shikamaru and Neji were already doing the same. Sasuke wondered if he should bring Sakura in but quickly dismissed the thought. Root would immediately go after her even if her leads were dead ends.

And Sasuke wanted her safe, no matter what it took.

It was that circling in Sasuke's head when he went home early.

It was that that had him staring blankly at the files he'd taken with him.

And it was that that made him realize he was still falling. He would never stop falling. But he'd fallen too far to go back or even slow down. He was past the point of no return now. He would never hit bottom, he knew that. He also knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that the most important part of the fall was already done.

Sasuke might still be falling, but he was falling further in love with Sakura.

He was in love with her.

And he didn't have a clue what to do about it.

He heard the door open and tried to think of something else, realizing almost too late he was smiling and fought to keep it off. He needed to know what his next move was, needed a plan. He did not need Sakura to find out so soon after agreeing to try a relationship.

Then Sakura walked in covered in blood and Sasuke forgot about everything in favor of the complete and utter panic that crashed into him.

"You're home," Sakura said in surprise, unbothered by the blood dripping from her to form a puddle at her feet.

Sasuke stood so fast his chair tipped backwards and crashed to the floor. He was beside her in an instant, wanting to find the source of the blood and stop it but afraid to touch her. Through the fog in his brain screaming that it was _entirely too much blood_, Sasuke realized the blood wasn't coming from her.

None of it was Sakura's.

"It's not mine," she said tiredly. "I'm not hurt- Sasuke!" Her hand shot out, grabbing his shoulder to steady him.

The relief had swamped him so suddenly, so painfully, Sasuke nearly lost his footing. She wasn't hurt.

"_Why is there so much blood?_" he demanded, holding onto her as tightly as she was him.

"It's nothing. Sasuke, it's nothing!" Sakura was more than a little alarmed at Sasuke's reaction. He couldn't even stand on his own, sinking a hip onto his desk, one hand clamped around her elbow. His eyes were wide and desperate, fighting for control. Sasuke never fought for control. He was always, _always_ in control of himself.

"Were you attacked?"

Sakura shook her head, grimacing at the sound of blood hitting the floor from her movement. "No. Let me shower and I'll explain, okay?"

Sasuke took a deep breath. "Okay." It took every ounce of his willpower to let go of her, to let her walk out of the room. "Okay."

He busied himself with cleaning the blood from the floor before it dried, hoping the chore would give him enough time to slow his heartbeat and steady his hands.

Ten minutes later his floors were wet but blood free and Sakura appeared, dripping, but this time with clean, clear water. Not a trace of blood was left on her. In fact, Sasuke could almost pretend that it had never happened, that Sakura had simply gotten in the shower after her trip to the market, not appeared absolutely drenched in someone else's blood.

But he couldn't wipe that image from his mind. Nor could he forget the terror that had clawed at him in those seconds when he'd feared the blood to be her own.

Sakura held her arms out wide. "See? Not a mark."

Sasuke's didn't relax his posture an inch. "What happened?" he demanded, the last dredges of fear making his voice rough.

"There was an attack," Sakura admitted. "But it wasn't on me."

"Then who?"

"Four civilians."

Sasuke growled, throwing the mop down so hard it snapped in two. It wasn't enough that Root was trying to take him out, now they were going for his friends. And when that didn't work, they went after the villagers. Civilians who couldn't defend themselves.

Sakura told him everything, her trip to the market, Neji shadowing her as usual. Then people had started screaming and they'd both rushed forward. Neji dove to attack the Root, Sakura slid on her knees beside the bodies that had fallen. Three of them were still alive and she poured everything she had into keeping them that way.

Blood from one of the Root splattered across her face and hair, but she paid it no mind. Neji was too angry to even think about keeping them alive.

"All the Root involved in the attack were dealt with?" Sasuke asked, unsure if he was glad they were dead or angry that they couldn't extract information from them.

"They were stupid enough to mention they'd go after Tenten and Hinata when they were done with Neji."

Root obviously didn't care about intelligence then.

"Fools," Sasuke hissed. "The civilians?"

"The survivors are in the hospital and Neji is making sure the deceased is being taken care of." Sakura hugged herself, suddenly cold. Logically she knew that the man had been dead before she'd arrived, but she couldn't shake the feeling to helplessness, the sadness at the loss of a life.

Sasuke had her in his arms before either of them could register that he'd moved.

Face buried in her hair, inhaling her scent, arms tight around her, Sasuke pulled her as close as possible, his breath fanning across her hair for a brief moment before he pulled back enough to press a kiss to her temple.

She was safe.

She was alive and safe in his arms.

And God help whoever tried to change that.


	21. Of Zippers and Orders

**A/N:** Firstly, I'M ALIVE! Tired from work, but writing and alive. I'm actually also writing a book about my life, including what lead to me being homeless, on top of a few fics. So be patient with the overworked person please :D Second, I can't reply to anonymous reviews, so if you're going to be anonymous, don't ask why I don't reply. The site won't let meeee!

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><p>Sasuke didn't smell food cooking when he got home as he expected, but he sensed several other things. He heard three voices coming from the kitchen- Sakura's and two others- and the sound of laughter and scissors cutting through fabric. He saw a flash of white disappear into the depths of the kitchen before he could focus on it, and then his vision was filled with Sakura rushing to block the way, pink hair cascading down her back, swishing over the purple dress she wore, a faint scent of plum lingering over her.<p>

She blinked, then gave a relieved breath. "It's just Sasuke," she said over her shoulder. "You can come out."

Sasuke was trying very hard not to stare at the smooth expanse of skin exposed by Sakura's half done zipper, or the black strap of her bra, or the curve of her hip visible by the gap in the fabric. The view was like a punch to his already revved system and he found himself thinking of cold, unattractive things for the first time since he hit puberty.

"We thought you might be Shikamaru," Sakura confessed, turning on her heel so her back was to him. "Can you zip me up? This zipper is being impossible."

A muttered curse floated from the kitchen, followed by a more explicit one, before Tenten was inches away from shouting curses.

"Ino I hate this dress. The color is awesome but I hate this dress."

Sasuke tugged on Sakura's zipper and found his sentiments to echo Tenten's. The teeth on the track were tiny and the zipper was reluctant to move without brute force. Sasuke didn't want to put too much strength into zipping Sakura up (and his brain was going into overdrive trying to calm his system down), but nothing short of Sakura's inhuman strength was going to get the damn thing to go up.

"I don't know what is up with the zippers, but the dresses are pretty cool," Ino's voice remarked. She grunted, obviously trying to get Tenten secured into her dress.

"At least we know it's not going to unzip itself," Sakura pointed out, glancing over her shoulder to try and catch a glimpse of where the zipper was now.

Sasuke had managed to get it done up halfway before it had become stationary again.

"...I hate this dress," he muttered.

Tenten snorted and began wiggling to reach her zipper when Ino gave up. "I might be able to replace them," she grunted. "But first we need to actually get the damn things _on_ so I can see about altering them." She turned in a circle, almost like a dog chasing its tail, trying to grab the metal at her back. "Son of a _bitch_."

Sasuke brushed some of Sakura's hair over her shoulder to get it out of the way. Deliberately he brushed his fingertips lightly over her skin, trailing down her spine to take the zipper again. Goosebumps followed his fingers and Sasuke was absurdly pleased with himself, even when Sakura tossed him a muted glare.

"I'll get you for that," she hissed, piling her hair on top of her head and securing it with a clip.

"At least your dresses don't lace up in the back," Ino muttered, yanking on the ribbon that held her gown closed. "I can't get this through the last few holes, and I don't think Sasuke wants a peep show." Ino danced in place, arms at awkward angles, trying to make everything fit.

"I don't know," Tenten gasped, tugging violently on her dress, "he's taking his time zipping Sakura."

Sasuke growled, both at the teasing tone Tenten had used and the fact that he couldn't get the damn zipper to freaking move. "Why must women's clothes be so complicated?"

"Because pretty is never simple," Sakura informed him, resisting the urge to shiver. She wondered if he knew his thumb was rubbing circles on her back.

Ino laughed, using metal fridge as a mirror to check her lacing handiwork. "True. I'm pretty and I'm _very_ complicated."

Tenten had passed dancing and tugging and was well on her way to wrestling moves, jerking arms punctuated by very ugly words. "God dammit. This" tug "fucking" tug "zipper" tug "better" tug "fucking" tug "move!" A final, violent tug, and the zipper went the rest of the way up the track. Tenten wiped her brow. "That was more of a workout than anything Neji and I have ever done."

Ino made a face. "Too much information."

"I was talking about sparring you pervert."

Sakura laughed. "Sure you were."

Sasuke finally closed the fabric, the zipper all the way up. "Finally," he muttered. A terrible zipper was one thing, but staring at Sakura's bra strap was something else entirely. The universe was trying to mock him it seems, throwing his own rule in his face at every turn. The current heat wave hadn't let up and Sakura had taken to waltzing around in shorts shorter than he could take, and sleeping in nothing but shirts. And she usually cooked breakfast in her sleepwear.

They might have agreed on no sex, but that didn't mean Sasuke wanted her any less.

"Phew," Sakura gasped. "Tight fit."

Sasuke took one look at her in the dress- a tight, off the shoulder, corset number with a long skirt and a slit up one leg, all the way up to her thigh- and retreated to the living room without a word.

He glared murderously at the ceiling and hoped whatever deity in charge of these things was watching.

_I hate you_, he assured it, and sat wearily down on the couch.

Neji ventured in a few minutes later, and then retreated as well.

"Ino sure knows how to pick dresses," he said cheerfully, bouncing Hizashi on his knee.

Easy for him to say- he was married to the woman he was attracted to.

"Any luck with your leads?" Sasuke asked, snatching a piece of paper away from the baby before he could put it in his mouth.

Neji offered his son a rattle. "Yes. I've... taken care of the situation. Kakashi requests your aid as soon as you're available."

They had one in custody. And judging by Neji's face, not exactly beaming, but definitely not unhappy, they had one willing to talk. Any information they got would be several steps forward. They only had a piece of paper with a list of names on it. They had no idea how Root operated, where they operated... they had names of members and all but knew who was in charge, but none of that was enough to act, not yet.

Sakura laughed heartily and wandered into the living room. The smile never left her face but her eyes were serious. "What are we talking about in here?" she asked, adjusting the leg slit so that only her knee down was visible.

Sasuke didn't even think about lying to her. "I need you to stay here," he told her. Authority had leaked into his voice, but he knew his eyes to be something close to pleading.

Sakura missed the glint in his eyes and narrowed her own. "To stay behind helplessly you mean."

Neji decided to give Hizashi to his mother and abruptly retreated to the kitchen.

"Tenten won't be able to defend very well with Hizashi," Sasuke said lowly. "And Hinata won't be able to fight at all." He stood and met her gaze. "You and Ino can."

A look of understanding dawned and she bit her lip. Sasuke gently ran his thumb along her jaw, tucking her hair behind her ear, his fingers tracing the shell of her ear and down to her neck to rest on her necklace.

"But I'll willingly admit I want you as far from this as possible. You won't hide from them, which makes staying here the best option."

If he couldn't keep her off the battlefield, he was going to at least keep her on the sidelines. They both knew she was still a big target, but giving her people to protect meant she would fight harder, fight smarter, and have people ready to jump in at any moment. Sasuke didn't like leaving her with just Ino able to fight, but he didn't have any other choice.

Sakura wasn't the type of person to back down, or run. As much as he wanted to send her away, Sasuke knew she'd never go. So he'd let her stay, but she'd stay where she would be, if not safe, at least as much out of danger as he could get her.

"Whatever you're doing," Sakura whispered intensely, "you'd better come back." She took his hand in hers. "You promised."

Sasuke didn't reaffirm the promise vocally. He pressed a firm kiss to her forehead, squeezing her hand once and wishing he didn't have to resist the urge to gather her in his arms and kiss her hard on the mouth. But there were rules to follow, people to interrogate, and people to protect.

Naruto and Hinata arrived shortly after that, Hinata carrying her own dress, Naruto looking grim. He kissed his wife, one hand on her protruding stomach.

"Love you," he murmured.

Sasuke snatched his keys from the bowl, shoving them forcefully in his pocket. Sakura's eyes burned into his back but he didn't turn around.

"Let's go."

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><p>There were several different drugs used during an interrogation. A sedative was always given before the client was brought in so they couldn't fight their way out making it one of the most useful. There were also drugs used to make people overly paranoid, make them blind, cause them pain without anyone touching them. Several interrogation tactics meant several drugs.<p>

But the best, the most treasured, was truth serum.

The man bound to the chair in the middle of the room eyed Sasuke warily, but didn't show any fear. He was chained around the middle, by both hands, and by his feet as well. The chair was bolted to the floor, four bolts in each leg, and an iv was attached to the man's arm.

Kakashi had already given the dosage for the serum. They were just waiting for it to kick in. People had been known to resist the serum, even shake it off completely, but that wouldn't be the case this time. Sasuke could see in it the man's eyes. He didn't have it in him to resist.

"What is your name?" Neji asked when Kakashi signaled that the wait was over.

"Arashi. Hibame Arashi."

"Are you a member of Root?"

"N... y... yes."

Sasuke stepped forward. "Who do you work for?"

Arashi struggled against his bonds for a minute, the chains rattling as he moved, before he slumped backwards, eyes glazed, mouth slightly slack.

"My... my unit reports to... the leader."

"Who is the leader?"

Silence. Arashi considered the ceiling blankly for several seconds before Sasuke asked again.

"Who is the leader of Root?"

Arashi blinked, his head lolling forward. "Danzo."

Neji glanced at Shikamaru, who nodded. Everything had been recorded. Proof on tape if they needed it, despite the Hokage being in the room with them.

Sasuke crossed the room until he was right in front of Arashi, inches from the man's face. His Sharingan spun lazily, glaring bright against the darkness of the room, one harsh light the only source of illumination.

When Sasuke spoke again, his voice came out in a harsh growl, many months of tension, anger, and a touch of helplessness boiling over.

"Where. Is. Danzo."

Arashi couldn't make the words form fast enough.

"At the abandoned Hyuuga compound in Sound. Root is scattered throughout Konoha, no more than ten active cells at a time."

Sasuke spun quickly, barking out orders. "Send word to Sound. Get Tsunade directly and tell her everything." Kakashi vanished in a swirl of leaves. The others stood silently, grimly, waiting for their orders.

"Where are the cells?" Sasuke asked Arashi.

Arashi blinked sluggishly. "Spread out. All over."

The Sharingan whirled to life again, and Arashi hastily spilled everything he knew.

Naruto watched his best friend stride towards the door, eyes black and hard, face set and dark with anger.

"We're done," the Hokage told them.

"What are your orders Hokage-sama?" Neji asked formally, standing straight.

Sasuke regarded them individually, carefully watching for any sign of any of them backing down. None of them flinched. He almost wished they would so he could send them home, but they didn't, and he couldn't. So he gave the order.

"Move out. Find Root." He yanked the door open. "And end this."


	22. Of Mercy and Rule Breaking

They lost Shikamaru early on. He didn't die or get hurt, he simply veered off the path Sasuke was clearing to tackle the person who'd hissed something unpleasant about Ino. Shikamaru had never been a merciful man, and he stood with blood on his hands and something unreadable in his eyes. He picked his way back to the front line, making sure everyone who was down was staying down, and directing reinforcements as they came in.

Neji didn't even pause. He was taking a grim sort of pleasure out of bashing people from the inside out, an inferno sparking in him when he realized just how many knew about, and were willing to kill, his wife and son. Neji had never pretended to be merciful and didn't hesitate to kill whoever even _mentioned_ the fact that he had a son, who even _looked_ like they were thinking about taking that road.

Naruto didn't slow down. Root had attacked and injured his friends, the people he considered family. They were dumb enough to do that and then open their mouths and brag about it. It wasn't about taking the country anymore, it was about personally destroying the people that stood in their way. Naruto had thought himself merciful, but that particular trait stepped to the side and allowed bloodlust to take center stage.

Sasuke kept going. Everyone who was in his way was quickly knocked down, white flames snuffed out before they could even make contact, bodies hitting the floor, some dead, some alive, but all hurting. Sasuke didn't even try for mercy. They had nearly killed him, they had tried for Shikamaru, for Naruto, and for Neji. But they'd come damn close to killing Sakura. They'd attacked civilians, the innocent people of the village, and every drop of blood that splattered was simply justice for those who deserved it.

But Danzo wasn't there.

Sasuke knew he wouldn't be, Arashi had told them as much, but he couldn't stifle the crushing disappointment that while easily sixty percent of Root had just been taken care of, the leader and creator was still roaming free, out of his reach.

"Damn," Naruto growled. "I was hoping he'd be here."

Neji straightened from his crouch, his eyes returning to normal. "We knew he wouldn't be," he reminded the blonde.

"Yeah, but I still hoped he would be." Naruto punched his fist into his palm. "I wanted to sock him in the face."

"Eventually you'll be able to," Shikamaru chimed in, appearing in the hall, dragging a barely conscious man behind him, another slung across his shoulder. "We've eliminated a good portion of Root tonight. He'll hear about it and strike back." He nodded to the man over his shoulder, one of the reinforcements. "He needs medical attention and this one," he shook the man none too gently "should be questioned."

Sasuke sheathed his sword. "Who is he?"

"No idea, but he helped me."

"He's Root," Naruto pointed out, crouching to examined the dark haired man more closely.

"He certainly wasn't on their side."

Sasuke furrowed his brow in thought, a habit he'd picked up from Sakura. "He could be the informant that slipped us the roster," he muttered. "But we can't be sure. Put him separate from the others and make sure Kakashi is there with him at all times."

Shikamaru nodded, keeping a hold of the man's collar while the soldier was carefully slid off his back to the medic's waiting hands. Naruto stood from his crouch and surveyed the wreckage around them with a slight smirk.

Root might not have been totally disbanded, but this certainly qualified as a win.

"We rule," he announced.

Neji paused his examination of the small cut on his arm, then snorted. "For now. Tenten will murder me when she finds out I did this without her."

Naruto's face drained of color. "I didn't even tell Hinata what we were doing," he admitted fearfully.

Neji blinked at his cousin-in-law. "Normally that wouldn't be cause for concern, but I know how frightening pregnant women are."

"She made her dad _cower_ when he came by." Naruto gulped. "I'm doomed."

Shikamaru looked a little nervous himself. "Ino..." He didn't have to say anymore than that. All of the men winced in sympathy. "At least she knew what was going on." At Naruto's disbelieving gaze, he threw up his hands. "You try hiding something from her."

"No way. She knows everything. _Everything_."

Sasuke wasn't looking forward to the journey home. Four angry women would be laying in wait for them. And they would be angry, because Sakura knew, and Ino knew, and they would tell Tenten and Hinata. Not because they couldn't keep secrets, but because they would worry all the more not knowing.

Sakura had been mad enough when he'd asked her to stay behind. How mad would she be when she found out that not only were they all injured in some way, but they'd been at the very front of everything?

"I say we take our time on the way back," Naruto suggested.

"It'll be better if we just get it over with," Sasuke sighed. His ribs hurt in a way that made him think he'd cracked one, and he was sweaty and dusty. He wanted a shower, and to sleep for a week.

And, no matter how angry she would be, he wanted to see Sakura. To see with his own eyes that she was unharmed. Probably pissed off, but perfectly, wonderfully, beautifully okay.

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><p>They lost Shikamaru early on. Sasuke had no more than opened the door before Ino had blown past them all and tackled her fiancé to the ground. Shikamaru's arms went around her instinctively, firmly anchoring Ino to him as they narrowly avoided the pavement of the walkway, just barely landing on the grass, crumpling what few flowers Sakura had planted.<p>

"I'm mad at you," Ino mumbled into his chest.

"You knew where I was going," Shikamaru reminded her.

"I'm still mad at you."

Neji didn't even pause. He was through the doorway and had his son in his arms before Tenten could even stand. And once Tenten did stand, Neji had them both in his arms, his son cradled into his shoulder, Tenten kissing him and cursing him at the same time.

"You" kiss "are" kiss "so" kiss "dead."

Neji's mouth curved against hers, and he held his family close.

Naruto didn't slow down. He didn't even stop to slip off his shoes before Hinata had yanked him into the kitchen, where she wrapped her arms around him and promptly burst into tears.

"You're lucky I'm crying a-and not angry," she hiccuped.

Naruto pressed a kiss into her hair, his hands frantically drying tears that appeared as quickly as wiped them away.

"I'm okay," he promised, kissing her forehead, then her nose. "We're all okay." A gentle kiss on her mouth and then Hinata was crying all over again.

Sasuke kept going. Through the kitchen, then into the living room, then down the hall before he spotted Sakura in her room, back to him, posture stiff.

"Sakura."

He didn't know what to expect. Tears? A punch? Angry mutters? Surely she'd at least ask if he was alright before she killed him. He really hoped she didn't start crying or yelling. He didn't know what to do if she did either, though he'd prefer yelling to Sakura crying.

But Sakura turned slowly, assessing him from his feet to his face before she took a single step.

Sasuke watched her walk towards him, his own gaze roving over her, relief pouring into him when he realized there wasn't a mark on her. Root hadn't come to them after all. She was safe.

And then she was in his arms, body pressed against his, her arms wound around his neck, face buried in his shoulder, and he held her while they both shook, clinging desperately to the other. He held her tighter than his ribs liked, tangled his fingers in her hair, and kept his forehead pressed to the crown of her head, and just breathed her in.

"Are you okay?" she finally asked, raising her head to look at him.

She was fighting tears he realized, and nodded mutely.

Sakura sniffed. "Liar," she accused.

"Ribs," he admitted.

She took a deep breath and stepped away. "Go clean up then. I'll be in a minute-"

Sasuke yanked her back to him and kissed her hard, pressing on the back of her neck so she'd tilt her head. His teeth scraped over her lips and she opened willingly to him, melting against him. They were a tangle of people, molded against one another, each holding the other up as hands ran along every exposed inch of skin. Sasuke untucked Sakura's shirt from her pants and explored the smooth skin of her back and stomach while she kissed her way down the column of his throat.

Sasuke lifted her off her feet to kiss her hungrily before setting her gently back down and backing away, trying to catch his breath.

"I need to..." she gestured to his torso. "Your ribs," she managed, gasping for breath.

"Shower first," Sasuke said, seeing the dust from him coating her.

"I should check on the others," Sakura realized, glancing towards the open door.

Sasuke opened his mouth to agree, but snapped it shut and arched a brow. He couldn't sense anyone but Sakura, even when he extended his senses. The house was empty and he told her as much.

"Ino will look them over," he assured her, heading towards his shower, wincing as his ribs throbbed full force.

The hot water washed all the grime of the day down the drain and erased most of the tension from his shoulders. Most. The main source of his tension was sitting on his bed, digging through a medical kit, completely unaware of her affect on him.

Sasuke turned the hot water off entirely and realized Sakura probably wasn't _completely_ unaware.

Her face was professional when he stepped, still dripping wet, out of the bathroom, clad only in sweat pants. She did stare, but that probably had something to do with the large myriad of bruises blooming on his side.

"Definitely cracked ribs," she said. "Come here."

Sasuke tried to keep his torso stiff when he sat, but he inhaled too sharply and his ribs moaned in protest.

"It'll be over soon," Sakura promised, her chakra already healing the aches and pains. "Then I get to kill you."

Now that his ribs didn't hurt, he could sigh heavily. "You know why-"

"That doesn't excuse the fact that you wanted to hide me away to cower behind your skirt," Sakura spat more viciously than he thought her capable of.

"You weren't hiding," Sasuke protested.

"No?" Sakura crossed her arms, looking every inch the pissed off female. "Then what was I doing? And don't say guarding Hinata and Tenten because even they think that's bullshit."

Sasuke didn't even have it in him to match her anger. He couldn't even get annoyed. He was simply so glad she was finally safe that he could only feel that elation. So he was able to say, quite clearly and calmly that he didn't hide Sakura. "But I wanted you as far from the fighting as I could get you." He tucked her hair behind her ear. "We all wanted everyone safe."

Sakura scowled at him, but her eyes were suspiciously wet. "So you hid the women while the men went off to fight."

"It's not like that and you know it."

"Then how is it?" she demanded, her harsh blink spilling the tears over.

And the truth came out. "We wanted the ones we cared about the most safe." He leaned closer until his mouth was barely a breath away from hers. "I wanted the woman I care about more than anything as safe as I could possibly get her."

The kiss tasted of tears and desperation, of caring and fright and pure, raw, unabashed need. The spark flared brighter between them, like live wires rubbing together to create a flame that burned out of control, and suddenly Sakura was under him, arching against him so he could toss her shirt across the room. She kissed his chest, following the line of his scar and lingering over his heart before she flipped them.

Sasuke didn't give up control so easy and pulled her down to return her kiss, following her up until she was straddling his lap, head thrown back, arms raised so he could lift her bra over her head because he couldn't figure out the damn strap, but her laugh was cut short by his hands on her skin, so gentle and loving, and by his voice in her ear that was nothing short of awe.

"_Sakura_."

They spent the night checking every inch of each other, assuring themselves that the other wasn't hurt. And then they, quite enthusiastically, broke rule two.


	23. Of Children and Love

**A/N:** My sprained wrist turned out to be broken and Sandy kind of through me for a loop, so this be it! I wanted to wrap the story up all nice and neat for all of my wonderful readers, but instead of pretty wrappers and a bow you guys are getting a cardboard box and some duct tape. Sorry about that. Thank you for sticking with me. I truly enjoyed all the wonderful reviews and amazing support I got from everyone.

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><p>"You know... I think the council did this on purpose."<p>

Sasuke smirked, continuing to stack books in the trunk before him. "Yes. They planned to have Root eliminated, then planned for Sai to become an informant, then they decided to ship you back to Sound because they made you the best medic in the world because they also planned for everybody to be injured and you to be the only hope."

There was a pause as Sakura stared at him. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, a sure sign that she was about to attack him in some way, but he kept his back to her. Something was thrown in the suitcase so hard it toppled over, spilling the contents onto the floor. Impressive considering Sakura was packing her clothes.

Sasuke turned to look at it, then up at the woman sitting on the edge of the bed. Their bed, and the fact that it was theirs still thrilled him.

But Sakura was packing to go.

"It's not forever," he said, kneeling at her feet. "You'll be back before Ino's wedding."

"You're too damn calm about this."

Truthfully, he wasn't calm at all. He was exhausted and had no energy to be angry that Sakura was being sent to Sound for three months. Root was mostly taken care of- the members either detained, scattered, or dead. Danzo had remained at large for a very harrowing three months, but Naruto, in a sudden swell of paternal panic ("He will not take my son's parents from him and so help me if you try to stop me teme I will rip you a new one") had set off to find and destroy him.

Neji had gone with him. Hiashi had surprised them all by asking to go as well. Sasuke had told him that there would be enough bloodshed if Naruto got a hold of the man responsible for so much pain. He didn't need a father hacking his son in law to bits on top of it all.

"He wants to protect his family," Hiashi said. "_Our_ family. I'm going with him, if only to make sure my daughter gets her husband back."

The peace was tentative, the olive branch small, but it was there, and it was enough to hold on to. Naruto had nearly exploded when Sasuke informed him Hiashi was going, but calmed down enough to snicker maliciously when told he was in charge, not the Hyuugas. (Neji had gone pale at the news, much to Tenten's amusement.)

They were gone for a month. Hinata spent a lot of time with Sakura, worried that Naruto would miss the birth of his son. She was an emotional mess- to the point that Sasuke would come home to either sobs or something being thrown at his head because he was male. There was no in between. He spent as much time as he could in his office.

Sakura called him a coward. He agreed and locked the door.

The day Hinata moaned and clutched her stomach was the day they got the news. Danzo was gone, Root was scattered to the wind, and everyone was coming home.

Naruto appeared in the hospital a split second before the thin wail of an infant split through the air. A blonde haired squirming bundle was handed to him and suddenly it hit him that he was a father, a dad, he had a son all of his own, a wife, a _family_. An honest to god family.

Sasuke didn't know who cried first, Naruto or the baby, but Sakura had laughed at them all and told Hinata her son was beautiful.

"We still have to name him," the tired woman reminded her husband.

"You could name him Hiashi," Sakura suggested wickedly.

"Not in a million years," was the response.

Sasuke held his godson carefully, waiting to see if he'd burst into tears like Hizashi had and wondering if that was the effect he had on babies or just Hyuuga babies.

"Haru," Naruto said. "After his godmother."

The smirk slipped from Sakura's face, whatever quip she was about to make dying on her tongue. Touched, she could only stare at the couple before her.

"Haru," Hinata agreed. "After the reason he's here."

Sasuke managed to hold Haru in one arm, using the other to wipe Sakura's tears.

"I-" she tried, sniffling. "Oh my god guys. I'm honored." She wiped furiously at her eyes. "Dammit, you made me cry."

Naruto grinned, taking his son back from Sasuke. "Hear that kid? You made Auntie Sakura cry."

Sakura gave a watery laugh, burrowing herself in Sasuke's side. Naruto waited for the other man to stiffen up or push her away, but Sasuke pulled her close like it was the most natural thing in the world, his face awed like he couldn't believe she was there.

"Aunt?" she asked. "Isn't godmother enough?"

"You're marrying my brother," Naruto said dismissively, bouncing Haru. "That makes you an aunt."

Sasuke maintained that he did not cry and that Naruto was being insane as usual. He'd just buried his face in Sakura's hair for no reason, that's all. He liked to do that.

But he didn't bother to correct Naruto. They were brothers, and Haru his nephew. Blood didn't matter.

But now Sakura was leaving.

It was only for three months (it had never seemed longer) and she'd be back before winter even really hit, but she was still going. She would be far away from him. Too far. Way, way too far.

"I'm using a question," Sakura said suddenly.

Sasuke blinked before his mind reminded him about the twenty questions they'd had a lifetime ago, before Haru even came into the world.

"Alright."

"Are you going to miss me?"

She sounded meek and unsure and for a second Sasuke could only stare at her.

Wasn't it obvious? Didn't he give himself away hundreds of times a day? Didn't she know?

"Every day," he promised, raising slightly to kiss her on the mouth, to show her just how much.

Fingers threaded through hair, bodies were pulled close, two hearts thrumming in time with each other, and Sasuke was left astounded at himself, at the most obvious thing in the world that he'd never said, never breathed a word of. But she knew. She had to know.

But he said it anyways.

"I love you."

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sasuke,<em>

_People are stupid. I hate people._

_Love, Sakura_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sakura,<em>

_This is not new. Though I admit I am surprised that you decided to hate the stupid people all of a sudden. Don't you usually just roll your eyes and walk away? What brought on the sudden onslaught of wrath?_

_Love, Sasuke_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sasuke.<em>

_I repeat- people are stupid. That's why I hate them. I like a few of them selectively, but in a large group, they're ultimately hateable. How's our nephew? I miss him already._

_Love, Sakura_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sakura,<em>

_My future wife hates people. Good to know. Haru is fine. As we speak he's drooling in his baby seat next to me, ripping up what I'm pretty sure is an important document because he refuses to let go of it. Any attempts to pry it from his fingers has resulted in screaming. He misses you too._

_Love, Sasuke_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sasuke,<em>

_My future husband hates people too. We shall conquer the world with our people hating ways._

_Has Ino driven Shikamaru crazy with last minute wedding details yet? She's been writing to me nonstop about flowers and music and food. I got three letters from her yesterday. Three! In one day! And she still calls me once a day every day. Honestly, if I wasn't at the hospital so much I think she'd call more, but she's busy being a medic too. I don't think she sleeps. Does Shikamaru know he's marrying a vampire?_

_Love, Sakura_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sakura,<em>

_You and your future husband will be very happy together._

_Shikamaru? She's been driving __me__ crazy with this wedding crap. Apparently I'm actually in the damn thing. I wonder who gave her the idea of having me as a groomsman._

_As for the vampire thing, I'm pretty sure he's aware. If not, he has a nasty surprise waiting for him during the honeymoon._

_...and I really didn't want to think about Ino's honeymoon, so thank you for that._

_Love, Sasuke._

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sasuke,<em>

_I know we will be. He's amazing and I'm awesome. We'll make it work._

_Oh don't be such a grump. I actually had to talk her out of making you stand on her side since you're more her friend that Shikamaru's. The thought of you in a purple tuxedo, however, was very tempting (Tenten was in hysterics at the thought of you in a dress)._

_Ha. I can send you improper mental images from a different country._

_Love, Sakura_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sakura,<em>

_The only improper mental images I want in my head are of you that last night. I'm fairly certain we did a few illegal and anatomically impossible things._

_Love, Sasuke_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sasuke,<em>

_I have several responses to that, but I think they'd all get censored._

_Love, Sakura_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sakura,<em>

_Haru's been eating your letters._

_Love, Sasuke_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sasuke,<em>

_You're not supposed to let a baby eat paper! Wait, you're not feeding them to him are you? If you don't want the letters just throw them out. My words are not baby food._

_I miss you._

_Love, Sakura._

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sakura,<em>

_He's Naruto's offspring. I can't control what he puts in his mouth anymore than I can control what Naruto puts in his mouth. I don't know how Hinata manages to stay sane between the two of them. I look away for a second and Haru's eating something and Naruto's destroyed my pens. It's like I have two genetically linked jinxes in my office._

_I miss you too. Be safe._

_Love, Sasuke_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sasuke,<em>

_I'm always safe. You, on the other hand, are like a trouble magnet or something. I don't want you anywhere near anything dangerous until I'm back home where I can heal you and then beat you._

_I love you._

_Sakura_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sakura,<em>

_You'll be home soon enough. Then you can try to beat me all you want. You'll fail, but you can try. You won't believe how big Haru's gotten (it's all the letters he's been eating. Maybe your words have spawned some kind of gene mutation in him or something)._

_After all the insanity with Ino's wedding, I'm tempted to make her plan ours as punishment for what she's been putting me through in your absence, but I think she'd make me wear pink. Come home soon._

_I love you too._

_Sasuke_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sasuke,<em>

_I will pull some cookie dough out. Don't think I won't._

_Thank you for the pictures of Haru. They're adorable! He has gotten big. What have you been feeding him besides my letters? Also, the picture of Naruto asleep sitting up was great. My other pictures of him are blurry- I can never get him to sit still. There's some kind of poetic justice in him having a kid as energetic as he is, but I feel sorry for Hinata._

_You must be annoying Ino. She told me she hasn't decided if she's going to beat you with her shoes or force you into a glitter tux._

_Love, Sakura_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sakura,<em>

_I'm using a question._

_When you come home, will you marry me?_

_I'm not asking because the Council expects us to, or because of the arrangement. I'm asking because I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to be your husband. I want you with me, home, in my life, in my bed, forever._

_Love, Sasuke_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sasuke,<em>

_Pay no attention to the water drops on this letter. It was... raining. That's all._

_Yes._

_And I'm using my last question._

_If the council hadn't arranged this, if we'd just been two strangers who happened to meet, would you marry me?_

_Love, Sakura_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sakura,<em>

_Yes._

_Love Sasuke_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sasuke,<em>

_It's still raining._

_And you you still have one question._

_Love, Sakura_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sakura,<em>

_It's raining here too._

_You'll be home soon._

_How many children do you want? Our nephew needs playmates who aren't Hyuugas._

_Love, Sasuke_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sasuke,<em>

_I can't wait to be home next week. I can't wait to see you._

_There's nothing wrong with Hyuugas and you know it. Even Hiashi has really turned around. I guess that's what a grandchild can do to you. And grandnephews. And having Naruto as a son in law. How does he manage to win people over while simultaneously making them want to kill him?_

_As for children, I want at least five. Or six. Twins run in my family._

_Love, Sakura_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Sakura,<em>

_I think I can handle five or six green eyed small ones running around. We'll get started on that as soon as you get home._

_Love, Sasuke_

_P.S. You're not serious about the twin thing. Are you?_

Fin.


End file.
